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Quirky Kid Wins Boosting Female Founders Grant

by

Zoe Barnes

On

16 Feb

2022

Quirky Kid CEO Dr Kimberley O'Brien
Company
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The Australian Government yesterday announced the recipients of Round 2 of the Boosting Female Founders Initiative grant. We’re thrilled to reveal that Quirky Kid received $200,000 in funding to improve and expand our BriteChild® smart mental health platform.

“We’ve developed BriteChild® to address the ever-increasing demand for mental health services around the world,” says Quirky Kid CEO Dr Kimberley O’Brien. “BriteChild® is an accessible, affordable app that parents can use to gain access to a mental health professional anytime they have questions about their child.”

The innovative digital platform focuses on early intervention and addressing barriers to mental health care. “Issues can start as early as preschool and we know that the outcomes are extremely positive when parents are able to access mental health support early,” says Dr Kimberley.

“I know from personal experience that the stigma attached to accessing mental health support can prevent children from getting the help they need and that impacts on their whole life experience. If we can reduce that stigma and give families access earlier, the outcomes for education and quality of life are so much better.”

We're Hiring - Apply Now

Quirky Kid continues to grow, develop and evolve. As a result, we have new positions for child psychologists and a mental health clinician (Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, Mental Health Nursing or Psychologist) who shares Quirky Kid’s passion for working with children – Together, amazing things happen.

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How Quirky Kid will use the Boosting Female Founders Initiative Grant

Dr Kimberley and the Quirky Kid team will use the $200,000 grant to improve BriteChild® and expand its global reach.

“This grant means everything to us at Quirky Kid because we can now bring BriteChild® to a broader market and help families around the world,” says Dr Kimberley. “We’ll be able to advance our technology and partner with early childhood organisations in Australia and overseas to reach parents faster and roll the app out further afield. We’ll also be collecting data to enhance BriteChild®’s artificial intelligence.”

You can read more about the Boosting Female Founders Initiative Grant and Quirky Kid’s involvement in the Australian Government press releases here and here.