SHARING SOME WARMTH
AGEING ACROSS CULTURES
T he Quickest Warmth Project, coordinated by The Reverend Prue O'Donovan, is an initiative that provides homemade quilts, curtains, clothing, toys and other donated items which are then distributed throughout the community to families, children and the most vulnerable. The project also responds to ‘calls for help’ from groups within the community and supports various programs within AnglicareSA. One such ‘call for help’ was from the volunteers at the Way Café at the Elizabeth Mission. They were in need of some bright new aprons so the Quickest Warmth team responded to the call by making and donating 24 aprons for the volunteers. Quickest Warmth is a proactive program with 80 to 100 supporters and contributors in South Australia.
I n October 2016, AnglicareSA held its second CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) Leaders Forum to foster and strengthen relationships with South Australian CALD communities. AnglicareSA CEO Peter Sandeman opened the event and introduced its theme: What it means to age in Australia for CALD communities. The forum covered the impacts of aged care sector reform and the importance of understanding that ageing is different for everyone. CALD community leaders described the challenges of ageing for members of their communities and the impact of cultural heritage on the individual experience of growing older. Keynote speakers included Rosa Colanero (Multicultural Aged Care CEO) and Dr Glory Gatwiri (Associate Lecturer at Flinders University, standing in for Dr Lilian Mwanri). Forum coordinator and Manager of Cultural Services at AnglicareSA, Mary Awata, said her team planned to hold the CALD events at least twice yearly to encourage valuable information sharing, partnerships and relationship building between AnglicareSA and South Australia’s CALD communities.
CELEBRATING OURHEROES
F rom September 11 – 17 we celebrated South Australia’s Foster and Kinship Awareness Week. AnglicareSA is fortunate to have almost 400 incredible foster carers providing a stable home environment and a sense of belonging for more than 460 children who are unable to live with their birth families. Celebrations included a buffet dinner and a kids’ disco for our Southern foster care team, while the Northern
T he St Catherine’s Friendship Group is a parish partnership with AnglicareSA that provides community engagement through social programs. The group meets monthly and is open to anyone in the community. Recently the group was joined by year nine music students from Trinity College in Blakeview. The students performed several songs and spent time talking with the group’s elderly citizens. It was a great opportunity for sharing stories and the highlight was the way in which the young people interacted with the group.
foster care team enjoyed an evening with finger food and a rivetingmagician who entertained young and old. Foster carers and kinship carers are everyday heroes who open their homes to vulnerable children in our community, and we appreciate their support every day of the year. If you would like to know more about how you could be a hero to a child, call 8131 3456.
page 8 — News about AnglicareSA, Summer 2016
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