Staff Matters November 16, 2018 Issue 179 Week 20
RENEWED & REFRESHED EDITION
NRMA ASSISTS WITH MORE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS In This Issue Afford is an Employer of Choice because we provide a variety of employee incentives and benefits by working with various partners and businesses.
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We are pleased to announce yet another employer of choice discount offer for our staff from NRMA. All Afford staff can now join NRMA Roadside Assistance and the $55 joining fee will be waived (for new members only).
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For everyday protection for your about-town car, or for larger vehicles travelling around town, there is a roadside assistance option to suit you. Prices starting from $9.99 a month. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy access to exclusive discounts with the NRMA Blue app on things like fuel, car servicing, travel and entertainment.
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NRMA Blue app is helping millions of Australians get more out of every day with exclusive savings on everyday benefits including:
NRMA Assists With More Employee Benefits Joke of The Week Summer Splash, Safety First Black Friday Savings With Afford Rewards
A Toast To Our Graduates Upcoming Training Dates
Janis Steps Up To The Challenge Upcoming Events Selfie of The Week
• Caltex Star Mart – Save 5 cents per litre on Vortex Premium and 3 cents per litre on regular fuels. • Use the mynrma app to find the cheapest and closest fuel station. • NRMA insurance - 25% off car insurance • NRMA Car Servicing and Tyres - 10% off servicing and repairs, tyre products • Repco - 10% off parts and accessories • Manly Fast Ferry – 20% off Eco Hopper Ferry Passes • Thrifty – 15% off car rentals • NRMA Parks and Resorts – fourth night free • Spotify – 60 day free trial for new customers • Taronga Zoo – 15% off pre- purchased passes • 25% off gas and electricity through Simply Energy
To join NRMA Blue visit: https://www.mynrma.com.au/ corporateblueoffer
REMINDER
Don’t forget to send your clients’ achievements, good news stories and photos to Marketing@afford.com.au
www.afford.com.au
Staff Matters
STAFF PROFILE NAME: Gail Imber POSITION: Lifestyle Assistant LOCATION: Logan & Ipswich FAVOURITE SONG? Foolish Games - Jewel FAVOURITE MOVIE? The Bucket List FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Reading, hiking, camping & cooking FAVOURITE FOODS? Chocolate, pizza & avocado IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL WHAT WOULD YOU BE? A dog as they are loyal and lovable WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? Tuscany WHAT IS THE NICEST THING SOMEONE HAS EVER DONE FOR YOU? Provided me with the strength to pursue my own path IF YOU HAD THE POWER WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? Acceptance IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? Humility SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? I became a Step Mum at 17
November 16, 2018 Issue 179
SUMMER SPLASH, SAFETY FIRST Following on from our story last week about heat safety and care, we want to reiterate the importance of sun safety in the lead up to summer and with the weather warming. Some of our residents and clients enjoy splashing about in the water, like the residents at Glen Alpine Group Home who got to cool down in their own pool. Residents, Bianca, Joanne and Moesha, stayed cool enjoying their pool during the Sydney heat wave recently and played games with the beach ball and enjoyed some down-time. The residents of Glen Alpine are all confident swimmers, however, at Afford, safety is of paramount importance. So we ensure that, like at Glen Alpine, pools are well fenced and that staff all are trained in first aid and CPR and renew this training every three years. Lifestyle Assistants at Glen Alpine made sure that pool time was enjoyable and safe by ensuring sun screen was applied and also advised residents to swim in the afternoon when the hottest and most intensive time of day for UV levels had reduced. When out and about at the pools or in the community, be sure to be sun safe and apply sunscreen, look for shade whenever possible and keep hydrated with lots of water. It’s great to see our clients and residents enjoying the unique Afford lifestyle features offered in our homes and throughoutour services, so let’s make sun and summer safety a priority to ensure everyone has a good time.
BLACK FRIDAY SAVINGS WITH AFFORD REWARDS It’s time! The beginning of the Christmas shopping season is here with ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ sales already ramping up for this weekend. This is the perfect opportunity for you to take further advantage of sales by reviewing your Afford Rewards offers.
Visit affordrewards.com.au, or if you haven’t already, downloaded the app at: app.com.au/SmartSpending and start browsing many partner discounts on offer. So many staff have been benefiting from Afford Rewards, so now is a great time to start your Christmas shopping and bagging awesome deals across a variety of products. It’s important to Afford that we provide our staff with initiatives that benefit staff and their families, and Afford Rewards does just that. It’s an Employer of Choice initiative that we’ve introduced for our staff and community, so be sure to get online and start saving! If you have any questions or technical problems, the Afford Rewards Customer Service Helpline is on hand to answer your enquiries on: 1300 900 186.
www.afford.com.au
November 16, 2018 Issue 179
Staff Matters A TOAST TO OUR GRADUATES!
The Blacktown Day Program has successfully been running the Toastmasters Youth Leadership Course for some time to provide opportunities for our clients to develop new skills and confidence to use in everyday life. The program is designed to build self confidence for public speaking and developing skills to communicate and to speak up in a variety of scenarios and to contribute to ‘table topics’, such as when speaking about our likes and dislikes in a group. Organisers incorporate role playing and drama into the course to make the program interesting and engaging for clients. The Toastmasters Youth Leadership course is tailored for youth and people with disability. Participants completed the course at Afford’s Blacktown Day Program every fortnight for 16 weeks. Around 30 Afford staff, VIP and friends and family of the graduates came together to celebrate the wonderful achievements of our clients. Each client made a brief speech about their favourite things at the Toastmasters Graduation ceremony at the Blacktown Day Program on 2 November 2018. Animals were a hot topic for speeches with Virginia speaking about kangaroos, Duygu speaking about lions, and Alfred discussing cows throughout their speeches. Ryan chose to speak about sports during his speech, while Tanuj talked about mobile phones, Clara spoke about rainbows and Michael talked about going to birthday parties. Peter was one client who truly impressed the crowd. Before taking part in the Toastmasters course, Peter would not get up in front of a crowd. But during the graduation ceremony, he seemed quite at ease to speak in front of the group about his favourite thing - movies. Stephan Bali MP, Mayor of Blacktown City, as well as Toastmasters officials, Sandra Sweetman, Phil Reeds, John Inglis and Naomi Martin, were among the VIPs who attended the event and congratulated graduates for their achievements. After the formalities were complete and graduates were presented with their certificates, everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch of sandwiches and healthy fruit. The Toastmasters program offers clients the opportunity to develop important life and work skills and the confidence to speak up in a group setting.
UPCOMING TRAINING DATES It is important for all Staff booked in for upcoming training to attend all allocated training sessions. Please refer to the weekly training dates to confirm your times. If you have any further enquiries contact the HR Team at: hr@afford.com.au
TRAINING
DATE
VENUE
Epilepsy/Midazolam
16-Nov
Quakers Hill
First Aid
20-Nov
Minchinbury
Medication/Asthma/Epipen
28-Nov
Minchinbury
www.afford.com.au
Staff Matters
November 16, 2018 Issue 179
JANIS STEPS UP TO THE CHALLENGE Afford provides many opportunities for staff to challenge themselves and take on more responsibilities in new roles. We’re always pleased to hear about a successful Step Up story, such as that of Janis Tahu, who has really put in the extra work to step up at Afford. In 2015, Janis was working as a casual kitchen hand at the old Cherrywood site, where she would prepare food for residents on site. Once the site began transforming into the new Cherrywood Hub and residents transitioned into other independent living options, Janis was nominated to Step Up into a Lifestyle Assistants role. Janis has participated and completed around 13 training courses to increase her skills and knowledge for a role as a Lifestyle Assistant. Her training has covered a range of topics including, first aid, mental health first aid, medication, epilepsy training, manual handling, peg tube feeding and positive approaches to behaviours. Janis has also successfully completed her Certificate IV in Disability and received her certificate in September this year. After being a casual since November of 2016, Janis has now secured a permanent part time role as Lifestyle Assistant at Afford’s True Blue Group Home. In her role, Janis works with residents to support them with weekly grocery shopping, learning domestic chores, educating them about personal hygiene and personal care and also supports them in activities such as gardening and travelling to and from outings and Afford Day Programs. As our Group Homes offer 24/7 care, Janis would also take on overnight shifts. Well done Janis! It’s great to hear great Step Up stories and we look forward to supporting you further as a member of the Afford community.
SELFIE OF THE WEEK
UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:
EVENT:
1-30 Nov
Movember
12-18 Nov
National Recycling Week
25 Nov
Orange Day - End Violence
25 Nov
White Ribbon Day
3 Dec
Intenational Day Of People With Disability
In the Selfie Above: Tyler Aitkenhead and his Pawsome Puppy Coco!
www.afford.com.au