By Shamsiya Hussainpoor
Residents and staff at Emerald’s Glades Lifeview aged care facility have launched a new charitable initiative aimed at making a positive impact in local communities.
The Lifeview Paying It Forward program is dedicated to raising funds for various charitable causes within the areas where Lifeview operates.
Each of the four Lifeview homes, along with the Lifeview corporate office, has established working groups consisting of staff and residents – these groups are tasked with organising fundraising efforts for a different cause every two months.
Staff and residents have been invited to nominate charitable causes close to their heart.
Lifeview executive manager for marketing and communications Cody Winnell, said the ‘Paying it Forward’ initiative was created in response to frequent requests from residents.
Many residents have expressed a desire to give back to the communities they have been part of throughout their lives.
“They’ve lived their lives in these communities, and they’ve always supported local causes and charities, why should that stop just because they’ve moved into an aged care at this stage of their lives,” Mr Winnell said.
Lifeview CEO Samantha Jewell said the Paying It Forward program was about supporting those causes that do not already get significant mainstream media coverage and promotional support.
“There are so many wonderful charities and organisations that do great work but that don’t get much promotion. We are asking staff and residents to nominate which charitable causes mean something to them and then determining which cause to support each two months,” Ms Jewell said.
“It is wonderful to see staff stepping up to be involved in the working groups in each home and working closely with the residents so that they too are feeling ownership of this community initiative.”
In the first week of August, Emerald Glades Lifeview’s social support coordinator Marc Zywaczewski, along with residents Elaine, Elisabeth, and Janet, visited Emerald Pre-School to present a cheque for $1238.25.
“The children get so much joy out of the residents attending and engaging with them, and so do the residents,” Mr Zywaczewski said.
The funds were raised throughout Lifeview communities earlier this year and the local kindergarten was the first to receive the funds.
The kindergarten had to make some urgent, unplanned repairs earlier this year, which disrupted term one.
Mr Zywaczewski, who takes Emerald Glades residents to engage with the pre-school class each fortnight, nominated the kindergarten as the first beneficiary of Paying It Forward and it was approved.
“We’ve just handed a check over $1800 to the Women’s Spirit Project based in Frankston, which is a program that supports and empowers disadvantaged women,” Mr Winnell said.
“From August to September, we’re raising funds for a group called ‘Team Sports for All’, and they help kids who can’t afford to be involved in team sports to actually play team sports, which I think is a terrific community initiative.”
The fundraising efforts are not continuous; instead, each of the four Lifeview homes and its corporate office engage in various activities to raise money for different causes.
These efforts occur at different times, allowing each location to contribute in unique ways.
For example, at Emerald Glades, staff and residents raised their funds by organising a one-day barbecue sausage sizzle, where they sold soft drinks and raffle tickets to support their cause.
“We’ve also got an op shop in one of the homes, and people donate in their vintage clothing and other bits and pieces for the house to sell,” he said.
Emerald Pre-School Parent Advisory Group President Kate Spencer explained what this funding would mean for the local children.
“This will make a huge difference for us,” Ms Spencer said.
“This funding will go towards a lot of the incursions we love to hold for the children each year.”
“There are some music-based incursions and some wildlife and animal-based incursions that the educators love to run with both the three- and four-year-old groups, and we weren’t sure if we would be able to run them this year, but this will definitely allow us to continue that curriculum for the children.”
One of the Lifeview residents who attended the cheque handover, Elaine, used to be an assistant at the pre-school and has fond memories of her time there.
The community also remembers Elaine well, with parents visiting the pre-school recently and seeing Elaine there instantly recalling her as “Mrs Morris” from their time previously attending the kinder.
Similarly, Elaine’s husband, Doug, who also lives at Emerald Glades, is well known in the local community as a school bus driver and the current parents recall him as “Mr Morris.”
Mr Winnell said it’s important to maintain the connection of elders to their community.
