Staff Matters 177 by Afford

Staff Matters November 2, 2018 Issue 177 Week 18

RENEWED & REFRESHED EDITION

A MAGICAL VIBE AT HEAD OFFICE PARTY In This Issue Close to 200 staff from across Afford attended the Head Office House Warming last Friday night, with everyone excited and pumped to party into the weekend with colleagues and friends.

The positive vibes were set from the start with the room buzzing about the special guest appearance by the mystical Apollo Jackson.

The night was filled with music, pizza, jumping castles, laughter and a united tribe.

The atmosphere was electric with the decorations including a light up bar and tables and personalised balloons setting the scene as everyone danced the night away. The special guest for the night was magician, Apollo Jackson, who delivered a mesmerising performance of magic and sleight of hand. But after his performance, he enjoyed partying with the group so much that he stayed on to dance up a storm with the rest of the teams until 2am! Apollo loved us so much that he personally invited our team to visit him when we are next on the Gold Coast: “You have the most amazing team!” Apollo.

A Magical Vibe At Head Office Party Joke of The Week Looking For A Sea Change? A Sad Farewell To Brian

Supporting Student Placements ADE’s Polish Up On Floor Skills A Sensory Renewal Afford Features On Studio 10 Upcoming Events Selfie of The Week

We now consider Apollo officially initiated and accepted as a member of the Afford community. It was a wonderful celebration and made even better by our interstate counterparts making the effort to travel to Sydney just for the event. It was great to have the NSW, VIC and QLD teams together in one location to celebrate such a momentous occasion. The move to the new Minchinbury office is significant. It marks a new era for our organisation and a fresh and reenergised community that is moving forward to demonstrate exactly why Afford has become the partner of choice for so many Australians living with disability. It is due to the hard work, camaraderie and new vision that we have been able to achieve such success together and the Head Office House Warming was a great way to come together to celebrate.

REMINDER

Don’t forget to send your clients’ achievements, good news stories and photos to Marketing@afford.com.au

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Staff Matters

STAFF PROFILE NAME: Sagar Shrestha POSITION: Lifestyle Assistant LOCATION: Penrith Accommodation FAVOURITE SONG? “I want to break free” by Queen FAVOURITE MOVIE? The Shawshank Redemption FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Listening to music and playing soccer FAVOURITE FOODS? Chicken dumplings IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL WHAT WOULD YOU BE? Lion, king of the jungle WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? Disneyland in California WHAT IS THE NICEST THING SOMEONE HAS EVER DONE FOR YOU? Motivation and encouragement to lead a good life

November 2, 2018 Issue 177

LOOKING FOR A SEA CHANGE?

Afford is expanding across the east coast of Australia with new sites and teams popping up in Melbourne in Victoria and across Queensland. With our expansion, there are new opportunities for staff relocation. We are proud that we have the best pool of talent in the disability sector. Our staff are recognised as leaders and respected within the industry. So if you feel that a move to the culture-rich city of Melbourne, or the sunny state of Queensland could interest you, contact HR at hr@afford.com.au to discuss your personal and professional aspirations to see how they may benefit our clients and teams interstate. We’re always looking for staff who are ready to take on new challenges, those who adapt well to new situations and can hit the ground running with a new team. If this is you - we want to hear from you! Similarly, if you know of clients who may be moving to Queensland or Victoria, don’t just say ‘goodbye’. Connect them with our interstate teams and be sure that they continue to stay part of the Afford community and continue to be advocates for our organisation beyond the NSW border. Our Day Programs, Club Afford, Allied Health Services, Respite and more are all ramping up in Queensland and Victoria, so it’s a great time to start promoting these services to our clients. With the NDIS yet to be rolled out in some Melbourne and Queensland regions, it’s important that we make sure our clients are aware of all the services that we offer across the states.

IF YOU HAD THE POWER WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? Have peace and harmony across the world

Let’s work together to build Afford across Australia!

IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? Lead your life full of joy

A SAD FAREWELL TO BRIAN

SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? I meditate in my free time

It is with a heavy heart that we recently farewelled Brian Palombo from Kookaburra Plumbing, a long-time supporter and contractor for Afford. As a long time valued plumbing contractor for Afford, Brian was always first to put up his hand to support Afford events. Afford would like to offer condolences to his family and staff, as we were honoured to have been able to work with such a wonderful man. Rhiannon O’Brien and Donna Hammond attended a farewell service for Brian and said it was a day full of love and laughs, celebrating the life of a Scottish Lark. Farewell Brian!

www.afford.com.au

November 2, 2018 Issue 177

Staff Matters SUPPORTING STUDENT PLACEMENTS

At Afford, we love great talent and when we have the chance to nurture great talent from within - it’s a bonus! For the past five years, Jane Dowling from Canley Vale Day Program has coordinated a student placement program between Afford and Granville and Bankstown TAFEs, where students come into our Day Programs to get a taste of what it’s like to work in the disability sector. The program started in 2013 when a former Afford employee decided to teach at TAFE. She contacted Jane to place her students for work experience and from then, Jane has successfully provided work experience for more than 1,500 TAFE students! Students placed in our Day Programs across Sydney are primarily studying their Certificate III in Individual Support, Certificate IV in Disability, or a Diploma in Community Services. As part of their placement, students work with our Lifestyle Assistants to support clients through their programs and observe staff to get to know what is required for different roles. They gain an understanding and develop their skills in communication, time management, dealing with challenging behaviours and they also learn about Afford policies and procedures. Since it began, Jane’s student placement program has grown from around 60 student placements in 2013 to a massive 420 (and counting) student placements in 2018! The best part about the placement program is that many students decide to apply for a job with Afford because they enjoy the supportive work environment. Yvonne from Belmore Day Program is one success story who came through the student placement program. She spent most of her time at Canley Vale Day Program and did such a magnificent job that she then progressed into a Team Leader role at Belmore Day Program. More recently, one of the Occupational Therapy students loved Afford so much they decided to apply for a job with us and she has been selected to join Afford while completing her final year at University. Such an amazing program! Well done Jane and congratulations to all the students. We love hearing these stories and hope to hear more of these success stories.

ADE’S POLISH UP ON FLOOR SKILLS The new Minchinbury ADE is set to shine with the team purchasing a new Nilfisk SC450 Floor Scrubber. The ADE was recently given a refresh with the concrete on the floors being ground back and layered with a new epoxy paint surface. In addition, the factory floor was enhanced with new walkways painted in bright yellow to clearly identify paths for supported employees, staff and visitors. To ensure that the surface remains clean and tidy, the team purchased a Nilfisk SC450 floor scrubber three weeks ago and it has been making a real impact on the factory floor. The machine cleans the floor by using a wet scrub and then vacuums up the water to leave a dry surface. By using the floor scrubber, slip hazards will be significantly reduced. Factory managers and some supported employees were trained in the use of the new floor scrubber by the supplier, which provided opportunities for new skills development. Great initiative team! We look forward to hearing more about the benefits of the new equipment.

www.afford.com.au

Staff Matters

November 2, 2018 Issue 177

A SENSORY RENEWAL Campbelltown Day Program is another great renew and refresh story with the site continuing to improve and enhance their facilities. Further work has been done to truly give their site a “wow” factor. Painters were brought in to paint the entire sensory room black; giving the room a totally new vibe and mood and really accentuating the sensory lighting. Further to this, a new set of cascading purple fairy lights has been installed, filling up an entire wall of the sensory room. Another wall boasts a colourful, patterned vinyl sensory wall-paper and new switches have also been installed to make it more convenient to turn lights on and off. The clients at the Campbelltown Day Program are super pleased to see the transformation of their sensory room and look forward to enjoying all the sensory activities in the room.

AFFORD FEATURES ON STUDIO 10! On Monday morning, Afford’s Animal Therapy Program was featured on Channel 10’s Studio 10 program which is broadcast across Australia! Interest in Afford’s Animal Therapy Program was secured through PR efforts, and a crew visited Cherrywood Friendship Farm earlier this year to film the segment. It’s great to see Afford being recognised for providing quality and engaging services for people in the community. The Animal Therapy Program was also featured on Weekend Today earlier this year. In partnership with Bushbred, Afford runs the Animal Therapy Program at Cherrywood Friendship Farm where our clients get to enjoy the company of a variety of animal friends, while learning some valuable life skills.

SELFIE OF THE WEEK

UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:

EVENT:

1-30 Nov

Movember

4-10 Nov

National Others Week

7 Nov

Diwali

11 Nov

Rememberance Day

12-18 Nov

National Recycling Week

In the Selfie Above: I Spy Afford in Southport!