Staff Matters April 26, 2019 Issue 202 Week 41
CARING ABOUT OUR STAFF JUMP ON BOARD WITH AFFORD! The journey has only just started for Melbourne Affordian’s as we launched our Afford tram on the Melbourne tram network, last Thursday the 18th of April in partnership with Yarra Trams Community Partnerships. It has been a long time coming - Afford was one of 8 organisations announced on the 17th of December 2018 as winner of the Yarra Trams Community Partnerships Program, which meant we were given a share of over $1 million dollars’ worth of advertising in the form of a full-wrap tram.
In This Issue 1
Jump on Board with Afford! Joke of The Week
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Jump on Board with Afford!
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Suzie and John tie the Knot
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Since then, the Marketing team have been very busy getting our design ready. The first step was to knuckle down the concept – Jump on Board with Afford! Once we had that locked in, we needed some fresh new images for our tram. A photoshoot was organised with Hilary Nathan Photography, at the National Head Office in Minchinbury, NSW on the 27th of February. It was a jam packed day full of photos and fun. Annalise Haigh from SLES, Jarrod Nicholas from SLES and Glenn Leembruggen from Club Afford attended for ‘super star’ shots, as our main faces on the tram. We also took some funky shots with our Group Home residents who were on site at Minchinbury on the day.
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Matthew Steps into Allied Health Upcoming Events Selfies of The Week
The photos turned out perfect, and were used to finalise the designs. As a thank you to our superstars, Jarrod, Annalise and their mums were flown to Melbourne to see the big tram reveal! It was Easter and we knew it was going to be a big weekend! Michelle Flynn and Kiesha Spies from Afford’s Marketing team headed down to Melbourne on Wednesday the 17th of April along with our videographer Joshua Vincent from Jovi Creative. Before we knew it, Jarrod and Annalise had arrived and it was time to celebrate! The first night in Melbourne was celebrated with a dinner and drinks at the Mantra on The Park with Katie Nuth (District Manager Melbourne), Kiesha Spies (Marketing), Michelle Flynn (Marketing), Joshua Vincent (Videographer), Annalise Haigh (SLES), Helen Haigh (Mum), Natalie Nicholas (Mum), Jarrod Nicholas (SLES) and a special guest, Annalise’s uncle Michael! It was a beautiful night and it really made Annalise’s trip being able to catch up with her uncle. The following morning was full steam ahead! The group headed into the city jumping on the first tram we saw to get to Flinder’s Street.
REMINDER
Don’t forget to send your clients’ achievements, good news stories and photos to Marketing@afford.com.au
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www.afford.com.au
Staff Matters
STAFF PROFILE
April 26, 2019 Issue 202
JUMP ON BOARD WITH AFFORD... CONTINUED We ventured around Federation Square, heading to Hosier Lane to take some photos and then jumping in the Afford van to head to the Kew Depot in East Melbourne to see our tram! On arrival, we were all given safety vests and underwent an induction that covered site safety and procedures.
NAME: Heather Whiting POSITION: Lifestyle Assistant LOCATION: Rouse Hill Day Program
FAVOURITE SONG? Bon Iver - The Wolves
After the brief, we headed down to the platform where our beautiful tram was being wrapped.
FAVOURITE MOVIE? The Piano FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Comedy shows, movies, live music FAVOURITE FOODS? Steak, salmon, lobster, avocado IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL WHAT WOULD YOU BE? A dog WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? New York or Tokyo IF YOU HAD THE POWER WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? Human suffering IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? Horse riding SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? I've never seen snow
It was a huge wave of emotion the moment we saw the tram, Annalise couldn’t contain her tears and neither could we! “I’m just so stoked to be actually on the tram. I can’t believe it.” – Annalise Haigh Our tram, number 3008, rolled out onto the Melbourne network Thursday 18th of April. Annalise and Jarrod could not wait to catch their tram on route 109, so the following day Jarrod and Annalise headed to the tram stop with Katie, Josh and their mums - Helen and Natalie to catch the Afford tram. The tram rolled into the tram stop and the group Jumped on Board with Afford! “How do you feel?” Katie asked Jarrod as they rode the tram. “Excellent and excited. Thank you Afford, thank you Yarra Trams!” – Jarrod Nicholas Our tram will run on the Melbourne network for three months, number 3008 routes 48 and 109. Track us on tram tracker!
www.afford.com.au
Staff Matters
April 26, 2019 Issue 202
SUZIE AND JOHN TIE THE KNOT At Afford we believe in whole-of-life disability supports, which means we support you to live the life you want, get to where you want to go, and enjoy the activities you love. Due to the efforts of Afford and our staff, a big congratulations is in order for two of the longest serving Affordian’s we have, Susie and John, as they recently tied the knot on the 13th of April at the Nepean Rowing Club. Susie has been with Afford since 1985 and John since 1986, with both working for Afford. Susie worked in the kitchen at Cherrywood and John worked in the Penrith factory and also the kitchen at Cherrywood. The newlyweds have been inseparable since meeting at the cocktail bar in Penrith Panthers 32 years ago. Susie and John were both residents of our Penrith Group Homes with Afford recently assisting John to find a new place to live when he had to transition to a nursing home. Afford helps Susie to travel to regularly visit her husband at his new place. The wedding was a magical day with 54 guests attending including Afford staff Kylie Sorby, Kym Mafi, Manju Jacob, Ike, Michelle Flynn and our external videographer Joshua Vincent. A handful of Afford clients and residents also attended, Susie’s Maid of Honour was Roselyn Hugh and John’s best man was Toby Robert – who all met through Afford’s Employment and Group Home Services. “It was a wonderful wedding. We had such a great time celebrating with family and friends.” – Kym Mafi
www.afford.com.au
Staff Matters
April 26, 2019 Issue 202
MATTHEW STEPS INTO ALLIED HEALTH Afford’s Step Up program is unique because of the opportunities provided for our staff. The program opens up new roles and responsibilities for staff to express interest in stepping up into new roles. One of our most recent Step Up success stories is that of Matthew Brennan-Jesson who has recently stepped into the role of our new Allied Health Intake Officer. Matthew started his journey with Afford in August 2017, previously working in sales roles at Optus, Escape Travel and finally managing a telemarketer role selling pet insurance before landing a job at Afford. Matthew started with Afford working as a Lifestyle Assistant for our Respite Centres in St Marys and Eschol Park. He also worked 1:1 with a Windsor client on Thursdays. “The people is what makes me love working for Afford. It’s not fake customer service, its real service.” Matthew said. Matthew says he feels ecstatic to have been given this opportunity in our Allied Health team, and his favourite thing about his job is his co-workers and supervisors. Being surrounded by a team with so much belief, passion and love in what our therapists do is the culture and the heart of our organisation and really provides a drive for us to do what we love. “My mission in life is not merely to survive but to thrive and to do so with some passion, compassion, some humour and some style” – Matthew Brennan-Jesson.
Reminder! Our job is to ensure that management is informed of incidents promptly so that staff can be assisted to respond efficiently, effectively and consistently.
Reminder!
• ANY staff member who witnesses or is involved in an incident, must submit an incident report before the end of their shift. If this is not possible, the staff member must contact their Team Leader, manager or supervisor for advice. Be safe, be dilligent, be aware!
SELFIES OF THE WEEK
estyle Selfie Above: Lif n and no an Assistant Sh Place y ar M m fro ul Pa Accommodation
Pawsome Assistant KSelfie Above: Lifestyl e rystal Hecke nberg
UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:
EVENT:
1-30 April
Parkinson's Awareness Month
28th April
Pay It Forward Day
28th April 4th May
Heart Week
7th May
World Asthma Day
30th May
World MS Day
www.afford.com.au