Very Special Kids

What Very Special Kids does

Very Special Kids is a self-funded Australian non-profit organization founded in 1985 by Sister Margaret Noone, providing holistic palliative care for children and young people with life-limiting conditions across the state of Victoria. It operates Very Special Kids House, Victoria's only children's hospice, alongside a multidisciplinary clinical and counselling service portfolio spanning respite care, end-of-life care, bereavement support, sibling support, family and holiday accommodation, and peer support networks. The clinical model is delivered by an in-house team of social workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, family therapists, play therapists, and allied health professionals (music therapy, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, creative therapy, occupational therapy), with referrals routed through a fortnightly multidisciplinary meeting attended by GPs, nurses, hospital staff, and allied health professionals.

The organization is not a technology company; its underlying platform is a physical hospice facility combined with community-based service delivery and human clinical expertise. There is no proprietary software, no application programming interfaces, and no disclosed AI or machine-learning capabilities — services are entirely human-delivered. The technology footprint is limited to standard digital channels: a website, online donation forms, an online merchandise shop, social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, YouTube), and event ticketing via TryBooking.

Revenue is generated entirely through a diversified non-profit model. The organization provides all services free of charge to eligible families and is primarily self-funded through individual donations (one-time and monthly), ticketed fundraising events (Very Special Ride, A Very Special Ladies Lunch, 24-Hour Treadmill Challenge, Footy Finals Fever, Piggy Bank Appeal), online merchandise sales (piggy banks, apparel, stationery, accessories) where 100% of proceeds support the charity, corporate partnerships, workplace giving, and bequests. Customer segments are vertical and non-commercial in nature: children with life-limiting conditions, their families and siblings, healthcare professional referrers, and regional families requiring access to specialized pediatric palliative care.

Name

Very Special Kids

Legal name

Very Special Kids

Website

https://vsk.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Very Special Kids is an Australian non-profit operating Victoria's only children's hospice, providing holistic palliative care, counselling, sibling support, bereavement services, and family accommodation to children with life-limiting conditions across Victoria, funded through donations, events, and merchandise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Palliative Care Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Individual and Family Services (6241), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Pediatric Hospice & Palliative Care (HLADAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bereavement, Grief & Family Support Services (Hospice-Linked) (HLAFAEAO), Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support (BPAGACAK)

Keywords

• Pediatric palliative care
• Children's hospice services
• Family bereavement support
• Respite care services
• Charity fundraising events

Headquarters

HQ city

Malvern

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Self-funded charitable organization relying on community generosity. One-time and monthly donations from individuals to support palliative care services.
2. Fundraising Events: Revenue generated from ticketed events including Very Special Ride cycling event, Ladies Lunch, Footy Finals Fever, and 24-Hour Treadmill Challenge.
3. Shop Merchandise: Online shop selling merchandise including piggy banks, apparel, greeting cards, stationery, and accessories. 100% of proceeds go to Very Special Kids.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with businesses and organizations to support children and families across Victoria.
5. Bequests: Legacy gifts left in wills to support future generations of children and families.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Very Special Kids provides free, holistic palliative care to children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their families across Victoria, operating the state's only children's hospice and delivering clinical care, counselling, sibling and bereavement support, respite and family accommodation, peer support networks and end-of-life care. Complementary revenue-generating activities include merchandise sales and fundraising events that fund the no-cost service delivery model.

Product overview

Very Special Kids is a charitable organization providing holistic palliative care services for children and young people with life-limiting conditions across Victoria, Australia. The organization operates Very Special Kids House, Victoria's only children's hospice, offering a unified care platform that includes hospice/respite care, counselling and emotional support, sibling support programs, bereavement support, holiday and family accommodation, and peer support networks. The organization also runs an online merchandise shop selling branded items (piggy banks, apparel, stationery) as a fundraising mechanism, along with events and challenges for community fundraising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Very Special Kids House (Children's Hospice) Victoria's only children's hospice, located in Malvern, providing 24/7 specialist clinical palliative care, end-of-life care and respite for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Mittagundi Outdoor Education CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Mittagundi Outdoor Education Centre to deliver adolescent camps for siblings aged 14-17 years old. The Mittagundi Camp provides outdoor education experiences for young people supported by Very Special Kids.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bear Cottage: Children's hospice operating in New South Wales — the most direct Australian peer to Very Special Kids, providing respite, end-of-life and bereavement care to children with life-limiting conditions via a donation-funded model.
• EACH Children's Hospices: UK charity operating children's hospices across East Anglia with counseling, family support and bereavement services — comparable in mission, service mix and donation funding.
• Noah's Ark Children's Hospice: UK children's hospice offering hospice, respite and bereavement support — the closest international analogue and the model that inspired the founding of Very Special Kids.
• Helen & Douglas House: World's first children's hospice operating a directly comparable facility-based respite and end-of-life model for life-limited children.
• Martin House Children's Hospice: UK children's hospice serving Yorkshire providing respite, end-of-life and bereavement care through a similar multidisciplinary clinical model funded by community donations.
• Hummingbird House: Queensland's only children's hospice, operating a directly comparable model of respite, end-of-life and family support services funded through community donations and corporate partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia: Large Australian nonprofit supporting seriously ill children and their families through accommodation and family-centered services — overlapping audience and donation-funded model, but focused on hospital-adjacent family stays rather than hospice palliative care.
• Together for Short Lives: UK-wide charity for children's palliative care — comparable in mission to advocate and support pediatric palliative care services, but operates as an umbrella/advocacy body rather than a single hospice provider.

Emerging players

• Camp Quality Australia: Australian nonprofit supporting children facing cancer and serious illness through camps and family support — serves a related population with complementary, donation-funded family services.
• Starlight Children's Foundation Australia: Australian charity providing in-hospital programs and wishes for seriously ill children — overlapping donor base and beneficiary population but oriented to play/wish-granting rather than palliative care.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AuVSK
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZDNbHrgwNeTOUN8TDCqlMQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/VerySpecialKids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/very-special-kids
• Instagraminstagram.com/veryspecialkids

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Very Special Kids