Staff Matters 155

Staff matters June 1, 2018 - Issue 155 Week 48

Afford Queensland is Up and Away!

Afford’s expansion into Queensland has begun and we’ve been busily establishing a presence, connecting with new clients and generating leads through our hugely successful Roadshows and well attended NDIS information sessions.

The Afford Queensland team made a huge splash at the Griffith Health NDIS Jobs Roadshow held at the Griffith University Campus on the Gold Coast.

Griffith Health’s partnership with WorkAbilityQld offered students the chance to engage in speed interviews with specialised organisations for positions becoming available via the roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Afford went head to head with organisations such as House with No Steps, CPL and New Horizons as well as recruiters - and came out on top!

Maureen Brown, our Recruitment and Training Manager delivered a smashing presentation which attracted the highest number - around 60! - of eager students to Afford to find out more about our services. Most other stands were packing up while Maureen was still on the stand interviewing!

Aside from having over two years post NDIS experience, student feedback about what inspired them to find out more about Afford, was largely centred around how much they loved the Afford presentation about working in the disability sector and the passion and belief that our staff have for Afford services.

The speed interviews were quick and to the point. Out of some 60 students interested, approximately 50 dropped in their resumes and were all given applications to submit.

The first induction was held from this group of approximately 10 people, with around seven taking part in the medical training the following day.

The success continued with a positive turnout for the Afford initiated NDIS Information sessions held in Queensland’s Beenleigh and Southport.

Continued on page 3...>

Let your abilities soar www.afford.com.au

In This Issue 1 Afford Queensland is Up and Away!

2 Staff Profile Oran Park Snags a Sausage Morning Tea Rewards At Marrickville

3 Afford Queensland is Up and Away! (continued) Afford’s Garden Guru Queens

4 Gallery Visit Encourages Art Appreciation

Upcoming Events 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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June 1, 2018 - Issue 155

Staff Profile

Oran Park Snags a Sausage Last Saturday, the enthusiastic team at Afford Oran Park Day Program continued their fundraising efforts by taking part on a BBQ fundraiser at Bunnings at Gregory Hills.

All Afford staff donated their time to support the event and around 15 clients also helped out on the day; cooking and serving sausages to the hungry public.

Edith Marshall Lifestyle Assistant at Bexley Day Program Favourite Song: Old school jams, NZ music and Reggaeton Favourite Movie: Just Go With It, Grown Ups and Blended Favourite Hobbies: Exercise, sports, having fun and relaxing Favourite Foods: Thai food, Seafood, Vegetables, Fruit, Sushi, Pasta, Boil Up, Garlic Bread If you could be an animal what would you be: Tigers, Lions, Panthers, cheetahs, Leopards What is your dream holiday destination: Definitely Tahiti If you had the power what would you change about the world: Any criminal acts What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

Support me and be there for me always If you had to teach something what would you teach: Talk and express kindness, compassion for others and how to be grateful for what they have

In an amazing effort, Teresa from Oran Park Day Program was able to secure the donations of most of the sausages, bread and drinks that were used on the day. These were generously donated from Woolworths, the local butcher and Costco.

At the end of the day, the BBQ fundraiser was a huge success with the Oran Park team raising a whopping $1,400 for their site. The money raised will contribute towards the new air-conditioning system and painting at the site.

A tremendous effort Oran Park team! You should all be so proud of your hard work and all that you have achieved. Thank you for going above and beyond to enhance Afford’s Oran Park services for all.

Morning Tea Rewards at Marrickville Supported Employees across Afford’s Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs) work hard to complete various tasks with precision and to customer deadlines.

The team at Marrickville ADE have worked incredibly hard over the past month; sending out far more pallets than had been expected.

So, Joeann, Angelo, Mark and Joel decided that it was time to show appreciation the efforts and hard work of all supported employees with a delicious morning tea!

The morning tea of cakes and donuts was a huge success with a big thumbs up from everyone as they enjoyed a relaxing morning with sweet treats and good friends.

Something no one knows about me?

Linda Alliband yelled out “that was nice” as everyone dug in, and the morning My family say that ‘I’m not tea was considered a “10/10” from Alumita Naulago who said she loved the lady-like’ donuts! Great stuff Marrickville team!

let your abilities soar

www.afford.com.au

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June 1, 2018 - Issue 155

Afford Queensland is Up and Away! - continued from page 1

Close to 20 people attended the two information sessions with groups coming from all different backgrounds and experiences. Many attendees were parents with young children looking for a suitable service for support.

Providing all the relevant and up-to-date NDIS information, Afford’s knowledgeable Executive Manager, NDIS Planning & Allied Health, Rosie Barletta, presented at the information sessions and assisted attendees with their enquiries.

Popular questions were about Afford services, as well as specific questions about the structure of the funding, the support they will receive and the access process and evidence. The next Afford NDIS Information Sessions will be held on 7 June again in Beenleigh and Southport. The future is shining bright for Afford Queensland and we’re excited to share more successes as Afford’s expansion into Queensland continues!

Afford’s Garden Guru Queens

Donna Crouch, Kim Wright, Susan Horner are three ladies from Afford’s Group Homes Sunshine and Panthers, who recently noticed that their gardens were looking a little bare.

All three ladies are very house proud and are always keen to improve their homes, both on the inside and outside. So they decided to do something to enhance the gardens at their homes.

Channelling their green thumbs, the residents decided that they wanted to make the gardens at their homes more beautiful and luscious with lots of stunning plants to brighten their days. So they got to work. The ladies set off for the local Bunnings at Penrith, along with staff member Barry Pearson, to select an array of plants for the garden.

They browsed all the different kinds of plants and were also provided with some help and advice by a staff member at Bunnings named Rebecca who helped them choose the right plants to suit their gardens. The trio worked together to select numerous plants for the garden and then loaded the van to return to their homes. Once home, everyone pitched in to help unload the van which was full of amazing plants.

Before planting, the ladies all positioned plants in different areas to see what looked best. Everyone took turns shovelling and turning the soil and planting. While they were getting the gardens ready for the new plants the ladies also removed pesky weeds that were lurking.

Kim’s favourite task was the weeding, while Donna enjoyed digging the holes and Susie enjoyed the turning over of the soil. At the end of the gardening session, the ladies enjoyed the afternoon in the sun, admiring their newly planted garden. With such pride, Kim stated that her “Garden is Just Beautiful.” Well done ladies! Such an amazing effort and a wonderful result!

let your abilities soar

www.afford.com.au

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June 1, 2018 - Issue 155

Central West Carers Get Social

Afford, in partnership with Carers Australia NSW and Together Carers, has established a successful Carer’s Program which enables carers to come together to socialise, talk to others with similar experiences and ask questions about Afford programs, services and in general about the NDIS. Recently, carers from Blacktown and Kings Park Day Programs enjoyed a night out at River Canyon restaurant in Parramatta. The evening was filled with good food and entertainment, but more importantly allowed carers to connect.

Afford’s Carer’s program plays an important role in supporting families in all areas of life and having the time to get to know the individual needs and expectations of every family.

Thanks to the Blacktown and Kings Park Day Program teams for coordinating the evening and huge thanks to Carers Australia NSW and Together Carers for their continued support of these events.

Upcoming Events Date:

1-30 June 2 June 3 June 3 June 5 June 8 June 11 - 17 June

Event:

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Awareness Month NDIS Boards Summit, Melbourne, VIC Mabo Day MS Run + Fun, Melbourne, VIC World Environment Day World Oceans Day International Men’s Health Week

Date:

14 June

Event:

Disability at Work 2018 - The Next Frontier, Sydney, NSW 15 June National Buddy Day 17 - 23 June Refugee Week 21 June Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Global Day 29 June World Scleroderma Day 30 June Red Nose Day

fieweek l e

Have a laugh

S the of

Canley Vale traffic control team up and at ‘em on a Monday morning

let your abilities soar www.afford.com.au

Please send in your selfies or laughs