Staff Matters March 6, 2020 Issue 247 Week 36
CARING ABOUT OUR STAFF AFFORD’S FIRST INTERSTATE GALA BALL!
In This Issue
The inaugural Gala Ball in Queensland was a huge success with more than 250 Afford clients, their families, carers, staff and sponsors, stepping into an enchanted garden fantasy, which was the theme for the night. A first for Queensland, our interstate gala ball, which was held at the Brisbane Entertainment and Convention Centre, was a magical experience for all who attended.
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Afford’s First Interstate Gala Ball! Joke Of The Week Afford Trivia
As soon as attendees entered the room of the Brisbane Convention Centre, they were instantly catapulted into a mystical garden environment. An oversized willow-style tree with sprawling whimsical branches was a prominent decorative feature of the room and set the enchanted garden theme for the evening.
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Afford And Hawks Change The Lives of Footy Fans Staff Profile
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Afford’s First Interstate Gala Ball Cont.
Sean Achieves His Broncos Dream Handyman Timetable Selfies of the Week
The ceiling of the room was a light spectacular with bright, colourful lighting patterns which set a calming mood for attendees to mingle with friends throughout the evening.
Upcoming Events Afford Trivia Answer
The Queensland Gala Ball was opened with fanfare and style, with Premier Dance performing the Taylor Swift hit, ‘Fairytale’. The performance created a celebratory mood for all, as attendees grooved along to the music. Another highlight of the night was a very special guest attendance from famous Australian model Madeline Stuart, pictured above. Madeline has appeared on the New York Fashion Week catwalk, and has also walked Paris fashion week, London fashion week, Runway Dubai, and many more! It was an absolute pleasure to have Madeline and her guests attend our event. All attendees sparkled as they walked down the red carpet, with one attendee even commenting that he has “always wanted to walk down a red carpet.” We loved that some attendees threw themselves right into the theme by wearing pretty flower headbands and glitter to match the enchanted theme and arrived in style, in a stretch limousine.
AFFORD TRIVIA
What year did we form our Allied Health team?
Continued Pg. 3
www.afford.com.au
Staff Matters
STAFF PROFILE NAME: Kumar Thampan POSITION: Lifestyle Assistant LOCATION: Chipping Norton Day Program FAVOURITE MUSIC/SONG? My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion FAVOURITE MOVIE? Titanic FAVOURITE HOBBIES? Surfing and crossword puzzles FAVOURITE FOODS? Continental IF YOU COULD BE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? Deer WHAT IS YOUR DREAM HOLIDAY DESTINATION? Niagara Falls IF YOU HAD THE POWER, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT THE WORLD? I would like to change the human perception to reflect the idea – “All towns are our own, everyone our kin” IF YOU HAD TO TEACH SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD YOU TEACH? No good or bad thing will come to us through others SOMETHING NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME? I have a flair for languages, that has made me a polyglot to some extent.
March 6, 2020 Issue 247
AFFORD AND HAWKS CHANGE THE LIVES OF FOOTY FANS Afford’s partnership with the Hawks continues to be one of the most successful community partnerships we have had to date. We are very excited to announce that this year Afford, in partnership with Hawthorn, will continue to provide a sensory space at all Hawks home games across the 2020 AFL season! For clients and dedicated footy fans like Ryan, who is a resident from our Cranbourne group home, this makes all of the difference in the world. It means that footy fans with sensory needs and their families can now support their team, enjoy the stadium experience and access the sensory space at all Hawks 2020 season home games. Ryan loves his AFL and as part of the Afford Lifestyle, we support him to access the community, to enjoy the local parks, activities and events. As part of Afford’s partnership with Hawthorn, a special meet and greet for AFL fan, Ryan, was organised. For Ryan, getting to meet some of the legends of AFL such as coach of Hawthorn, Alastair Clarkson, and captain, Ben Stratton, was a dream come true. Ryan was extremely excited to visit the Hawthorn headquarters and Joshua Kent, Team Leader of Afford’s Cranbourne home supported Ryan to travel to Hawks HQ at Waverley Park. During the visit, he was able to get amongst the players and, as Ryan would put it, ‘talk footy’, with his heroes. Ryan had an exclusive VIP experience at Waverley Park and was able to take in the atmosphere and watch the players train. He thoroughly enjoyed watching the drills, seeing the player rooms within the club and had a chance to chat with the coach. Previously, Ryan has had to watch games of AFL from home, on the TV. But now, a new sensory space will provide the opportunity he needs to head out to a game, knowing he has access to the safe and quiet space in case he needs it. The inclusive sensory friendly space was first launched in 2019 and caters to children and adults with sensory sensitivities and incorporates both calming and stimulating zones. The room will have a calming space with sensory lighting, visual displays, a cocoon area for visitors to chill out and relax, bean bags, air cushions, a cuddle ball, comfortable seating, a lightwave floor, and activities such as colouring and putty. We are so excited for what is to come in 2020, with Afford and Hawthorn working together anything is possible!
www.afford.com.au
March 6, 2020 Issue 247
Staff Matters AFFORD’S FIRST INTERSTATE GALA BALL CONT. The Gala Ball has been a highly anticipated and well attended event in NSW for the past four years and still remains the only event of its kind in the sector. The annual Gala Ball is staged purely as an opportunity for our clients to celebrate in style, with family, carers and friends. We are so proud to finally be able to bring some of the best events to our interstate clients as we continue to grow our QLD clientele base. There are so many dedicated staff that coordinated this magical event, as well as the many, Afford supporters, including sponsors GorisCo Projects, West Point Autos and Elefant Tracks Operations who make this Gala Ball possible. Thank you to all attendees, staff and, of course, our wonderful clients. The icing on the enchanted garden event, was the cutting of the spectacular themed cake.
www.afford.com.au
March 6, 2020 Issue 247
Staff Matters SEAN ACHIEVES HIS BRONCOS DREAM
Supporting our clients to achieve their personal goals and strive for all that they want in life is our main priority. For Caboolture resident, Sean Harrington, one of his goals in life was to meet his favourite NRL team the Brisbane Broncos. Sean recently celebrated his 1st anniversary living the Afford Lifestyle in our Caboolture group home and what better way to celebrate than making one of his lifelong dreams come true. He is a huge Broncos fan and talks about his heroes and mentors every chance he gets. So in the Afford Way, our staff made it a priority to make this dream come true. “He never stops talking about them, just look at his room you can tell he is a massive Broncos fan!” said Bernadette Van Zyl - Acting Team Leader. Since living with Afford Group Homes, Sean has attended a number of Broncos games and was over the moon for the opportunity to meet and greet the Broncos players! This was a huge deal for Sean and was a big tick off his bucket list. It is amazing to see our frontline staff go over and above to create experiences like this for Sean and other clients. Opportunities like these don’t just happen. Our staff work hard to network and organise these opportunities for clients to enjoy new life experiences. This is why we are an award winning service provider, with the best staff in the sector! Life with Afford is about learning, growing and having fun! So, we make every effort to ensure that everyone in the Afford community gets the chance to get the most out of life.
Handyman Timetable Meet Our Handyman Tahier
Our Handy Man, Tahier, will be at the following sites this week: - Monday 9th March:
Oran Park & Eaglevale
- Tuesday 10th March:
Rouse Hill, Kings Park & Blacktown
- Wednesday 11th March: Woodbine & Ingleburn - Thursday 12th March:
Windsor & True Blue
- Friday 13th March:
Weekly catch-up and urgent requests
SELFIES OF THE WEEK
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UPCOMING EVENTS DATE:
EVENT:
8 March
International Women’s Day
17 March
St. Patrick’s Day
19 March
Strategic Planning Weekend
21 March
World Down Syndrome Day
Afford Trivia Answer: In 2017!
www.afford.com.au
