The Joy of Community Partnerships

Our Care Communities in WA have had the wonderful opportunity to open their doors again to high school students for their work placements. Our lifestyle team at Murdoch Gardens Care Community welcomed year students in years 10, 11 and 12 from Corpus Christi school as part of their community service. These youngsters bring joy and youthful energy to our residents and in turn, our residents give students the opportunity to see the world through a broader lens. One of our students, Cameron, summed up her experience beautifully.

“Over my time at Murdoch Gardens Care Community I’ve been able to connect with the wonderful residents and team. It was a pleasure to have done work experience in such a community that tries to find the joy in life and care for the elderly. I have felt extremely grateful for the opportunity to support the residents and team because it has made me a better person. Thank you all for giving me a chance to do some work experience during this tough time for everyone. Covid-19 has significantly impacted the elderly and Opal has made sure they put restrictions in place for their safety. The activities set up by some of the team for the residents are amazing because it is a great way to keep them using their brains and bodies. Other team members also do so much around Opal such as the nurses, chefs and other carers. These people do a lot behind the scenes that is not always noticed and I just wanted to say that you are making a significant difference to the residents’ lives. So thank you everyone at Opal for everything you do and you should feel very proud of yourselves.” Cameron Hanson, Year 11 student, Corpus Christi

Over at Alfred Cove Care Community, two students from Santa Maria College joined us for a celebration of our resident, Peter’s birthday. We took the opportunity to have an outing to the park where we enjoyed the beautiful lake view. It was an inclusive and joyful morning outdoors, with residents enjoying the fresh air, driving scooters, walking independently or wheeling in their chairs with the birthday boy.

Student, Brittany, wrote about her experience.

"Work placement has been absolutely amazing so far; it has been so beautiful to get to know each of the residents and learn stories about their lives. Also, to work with them and see our help paying off has been life-changing. Thank you for giving me this experience, it has been wonderful, and I can't wait for the rest of this week and next.” Brittany, Santa Maria College

Thank you to all the girls who gave their time to join in our care community life. As the COVID restrictions begin to ease in other regions in Australia we look forward to welcoming more friends and visitors through community engagement opportunities in our homes.