Staff matters December 15, 2017 - Issue 133 Week 23
Farewell To Kingie!
In This Issue 1 Farewell To Kingie!
2 Staff Profile Rotary Big W Christmas Shopping It is with the fondest memories that we farewell Steven King, or Kingie as we liked to call him at Afford, who recently passed at only 33 years old and will be sadly missed by the Afford community. Steve began with Afford Kings Park in 2006 and during his time at Kings Park he made many lifelong friends including Keryn who he called his fiancé. Keryn and Steve had an awesome relationship and she meant the world to him. Steve was a very well liked man and had many friends. He was known for his sense of humour and making sure that everyone received fair treatment. After a while, Kingie and his mates transferred to Blacktown Lifestyle Centre. Steve loved participating in many activities, such as travel training, cooking and work experience at Woolworths. Work experience was interesting for Steve. He really enjoyed the Woolies bread, even sometimes when he wasn’t meant to. In 2016, Steve transferred to Windsor Lifestyle Centre where he built strong friendships and a good rapport with everyone. Steve always joked about ‘being part of the furniture’. Steve was ‘the man-in-the-know’. He would often make a cup of coffee and go into the office for a chat. He would divulge all the ‘insiders information’, about staff, other clients and who had annoyed him. Steve did not care who the client was, he would always make time for everyone and anyone. Steve had mentioned that he wanted to move into an Afford Group Home. He moved into Cherrywood Village in March 2017 where he still attended line dancing, karaoke and even joined the Brothers football team and tried out the raffles at the paceway. Shortly after Steve had to give up his beloved line dancing and football as it was too much for him as his health deteriorated. Steve fought to maintain his independence for as long as he could. Steve you are more than just a client or resident of Afford - you are a friend and family member and we will all miss you very much.
Let your abilities soar www.afford.com.au
Nancy Kids Around In The Far West
3 Call Centre Conquer Christmas Target
Digital Learning for Fun!
4 Afford Are Green Keeping the Ozone Clean
Selfie Of the Week Have a Laugh
Reminder Don’t forget to send your/clients’ achievements, good news stories and photos to CELEBRATE@afford.com.au
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December 15, 2017 - Issue 133
Staff Profile
Allison Jordan
Lifestyle, Club Afford and Getaway’s Assistant Kings Park LC Favourite Song: So Far Away – Avenged Sevenfold Favourite Movie: Any Horror movies. Favourite Hobbies: Listening to music, dancing and going out with friends. Favourite Foods: Pasta If you could be an animal what would you be: A turtle What is your dream holiday destination: Scotland and USA If you had the power what would you change about the world: To end all poverty. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you: Gave me a hug and told me I doing a great job and to be proud of my achievements. If you had to teach something what would you teach: I would teach people not to be wasteful and to care for the environment. Something no one knows about me: I Have OCD about cleaning.
let your abilities soar
Rotary Big W Christmas Shopping Afford Accommodation residents recently attended the Big W Rotary special Shopping Tour in Penrith on 6 December. The event was an initiative between Penrith Valley Rotary and Big W where the store was closed to the wider public so that the aged and disabled could browse the store with quiet and calm and grab a great bargain just in time for Christmas. 20 Afford residents had the opportunity to browse the Big W store in Penrith and complete their Christmas shopping with family and friends and were also provided with light refreshments on the evening. All clients had a great time shopping. There was also a choir that performed Christmas carols and Douglas from accommodation led the choir, with everyone getting into the Christmas spirit. All clients are very excited to attend the event again next year.
Nancy Kids Around In The Far West Nancy Elnajar, the new Far West Customer Care Manager, took a trip out to the Cherrywood Hub this week to familiarise herself with her new region in the Far West. Being a ‘girl from the city’, Nancy received quite a shock on being introduced to rural living and the farm life. Nancy was intrigued while driving on the road to Llandilo, when she saw feathers flying from the truck in front of her and was shocked to see a truck filled with live chickens. Pulling up to the Cherrywood Hub she was in even greater awe of the space and looking down at her heels realised she had definitely worn the wrong attire. As she met me the Team Leader she was amazed to see the variety of animals on the site, which include a goat, ducks and chickens. Welcome to rural living and the Far West Nancy! Don’t miss out on your chance to win! Call the Raffle department on (02) 4720 2300 to get your winning tickets!
www.afford.com.au
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December 15, 2017 - Issue 133
Call Centre Conquer Christmas Target The Afford Raffles Team do an exceptional job in the call centre to secure ticket sales to raise funds so that Afford can invest into new services for our clients. This year, after an amazing effort, the call centre reached their target of $310,000 for the Christmas Raffle; ahead of time with six days to go. With only 47 days to reach target, this was a tough raffle for the team in the call centre, but they went above and beyond yet again to achieve their goal and with time to spare! This time of year is difficult for many small businesses and individuals who want to donate to charity but are stretched to the limit with available funds. However, the dedicated call centre team of six super worked together against all obstacles to achieve amazing results. The Cherrywood Easter raffle starts on 8 January 2018 with great prizes on offer, such as a choice between $20,000 cash, Coles Myer voucher or world travel. Don’t miss out on your chance to win! Call the Raffle department on (02) 4720 2300 to get your winning tickets!
Digital Learning for Fun!
Learning through technology can be a fun way to develop new skills and discover new forms of absorbing information. Recently, Afford Accommodation residents were lucky enough to receive iPads through IRT FUNDING. At first, residents were a little hesitant about using the new iPads because they had never had the opportunity to use such technology and didn’t associate the iPads with fun. But this soon changed, as Afford staff supported residents to understand the technology by talking about activities they enjoy and how apps on the iPad could involve them in these types of activities. Donna is a resident at the Afford Sunshine Group Home and she expressed keen interest in cooking and doing find-a-words. It was difficult to find finda-words in large pint, however with staff support, a variety of apps emerged that included large font for find-a-words and Donna was supported to find the one that she liked best and suited her interests. Donna now loves doing these find-a-word puzzles on the iPad and, in a very short time, she has learnt to complete these quickly and easily. She loves that the print is large, the bright colours and loves try to beat her best time. Donna is also passionate about cooking and has started working with staff to create a recipe book. To help find new and exciting foods Afford staff have supported Donna to download three recipe apps on the iPad to search for recipes. Donna enjoys scrolling through the apps and pointing out all the delicious food she wants to cook and try. Donna has said that the best thing about the recipes is watching videos so she can see if it is something she can cook on her own, but, she admits, they make her hungry. Donna is still learning to use the iPad on her own but is quickly becoming an expert at navigating around the menu and is starting to look at more apps and games that she can play. Well done to Donna and all the accommodation residents for developing new life skills through technology!
let your abilities soar
www.afford.com.au
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December 15, 2017 - Issue 133
Afford Are Green Keeping the Ozone Clean
OF
LOYER
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At Afford, we place a strong emphasis on the true spirit of corporate social responsibility by striving for sustainability throughout the organisation.
We are introducing sustainable initiatives that are part of our culture and the values we share as an organisation. Inherently, through our core business focus, we seek to improve the quality of life for our employees, their families, their communities and society at large. Afford have clear strategies to help guide and embed sustainability into the delivery of our services. We recognise that integrating sustainability throughout our organisation will enhance how we do business and deliver better value for the community and our organisation. When our CEO, Steve Herald, joined Afford we only had three Diesel vehicles in our fleet. In less than three years, we are almost at half fleet on Diesel which dramatically reduces our carbon footprint. Throughout our services, we have received grants and funding to incorporate sustainable initiatives into our programs. Our Lurnea Lifestyle centre recently received a Liverpool Council Sustainable Grant to help educate clients about the importance of sustainable living, with weekly hands on workshops incorporating worm farms, composting and rain tanks to maximise recycling abilities. There is also a focus on educating our clients about the importance of recycling and respawning of food. Most of our sites have incorporated garden beds that they take pride in planting and maintain. The clients at Jamisontown have lovingly looked after their beautiful Sunflowers from seed to flower, took pride in watering them daily and couldn’t wait to see them flower. Throughout 2018 we will also be converting our lighting throughout the ADE factories to environmentally cost effective globes not only reducing costs, but also contributing to a more sustainable future. Promote sustainability through your Afford service and help our organisation lead the industry in making a positive contribution to the environment.
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Have a laugh
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In the Selfie Above: Staff member, Albert Shlemon has it all wrapped up for Christmas!
let your abilities soar www.afford.com.au
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