Tag: Ageing and Community

Older people are enjoying the fruits of a wonderful new vegetable garden they helped to create with students and international volunteers.

The project sprouted recently at Juniper Kununurra Community Care and was made possible by travel company Rustic Pathways which gives students and volunteers empowering travel experiences that positively impact communities across the world. Juniper is an agency of the Uniting Church WA providing residential and community aged care services.

Three Australian school groups from Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney visited the facility along with volunteers from all across the globe including Japan, Spain, Sweden, China and the USA.

Juniper’s community operations manager, Brenda Murray, said clients and staff very much enjoyed the visits.

“Not only do we now have a beautiful garden that will provide fresh vegetables and herbs but we have established a new and hopefully long-lasting relationship with the team from Rustic Pathways,” she said.

Forty-four UnitingCare West volunteers and staff took to the streets on Friday for the second annual street appeal, raising money and awareness for UnitingCare West’s homelessness services.

Volunteers, including Uniting Church members and students from Penrhos College and St Stephen’s School Carramar, held cardboard signs with slogans such as “I have a home, I have food. I’m collecting for someone who doesn’t.”

Volunteers placed themselves all over the Perth CBD from 7.00am–6.00pm, raising $3 592 for the Winter Appeal. Students from Wesley College also held a collection at their school on the day.

There are currently around 10 000 people in Perth who are experiencing homelessness, with around 61% of those being women.

Michael Patchell, chief financial officer for the Uniting Church WA spent time volunteering during the street appeal as a way to give back.

Embleton multi-skilled carer, Joan Stevenson, has been named WA’s top aged care employee in this year’s prestigious Excellence in Care Awards announced by the sector’s peak body, Aged and Community Services WA.

A passionate and dedicated Juniper staff member, Joan works within the Memory Support Unit at the City of Bayswater Hostel, a friendly and much loved 70-place residential aged care facility, operated and staffed by Juniper.

Vaughan Harding, chief executive at Juniper, said Joan is a widely respected employee and the award acknowledges Joan’s huge contribution to excellence in care.

“Joan has a natural ability to calm, nurture and connect with residents who have limited means of communication. Her initiative, artistic talents and creativity have also resulted in a much improved living environment for our residents. We are delighted to see Joan’s work celebrated by the aged care sector,” he said.

Among her many achievements, Joan designed and personally created a new Sensory Room for residents – transforming storage space into a calming sanctuary with forest-themed decorations, artificial grass on the floor, massage chairs and aromatherapy diffusers.