Villages host intergen program
RFBI’s annual Christmas card competition celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Students from more than 30 schools have participated in the Royal Freemasons’ Benevolent Institution’s annual Christmas card competition.
“The program is something everyone right across RFBI enjoys and offers a great opportunity for our residents, who may be missing family and loved ones, to recall special memories and create new ones,” said Alana Parker – RFBI chief marketing officer.
The theme of this year’s event – which marks the 10th anniversary of the intergenerational program – was Santa’s workshop.
Using the theme of the year as their inspiration, students were invited to submit a piece of artwork and share a few words about what their drawing means to them.
The artworks were then judged by residents in their local RFBI masonic village, with a winner picked from each school. In all, 38 drawings were selected.
“Residents who have been part of our Christmas card competition before get very excited about seeing the artwork the children have created,” said Jodi Parkes – general manager at RFBI Moonbi Masonic Village near Tamworth in New South Wales.
She added: “It is always a very tough job to pick just one winning design from each school. Sometimes it has just been impossible to narrow it down to one and we have had to award two or more students for their wonderful designs.”
The winning designs have now been converted into Christmas cards. Each of the winners received a $50 book voucher, a framed certificate and a set of professionally printed cards featuring their design. Their school also received a $100 book voucher.
The Christmas spirit at RFBI – which operates 22 residential aged care villages across NSW and the Australian Capital Territory – extends beyond the card competition.
RFBI also hosts a Christmas window showcase competition with every village, as well as teams in the head office, creating a display for residents and local community members to appreciate.
“It is amazing how competitive some of our teams can be. Every team created a spectacular Christmas display and we received close to 2,000 votes from residents, families and staff,” said Ms Parker. “Our Christmas window displays are available for the whole community to enjoy and we invite our local community members to drop by and enjoy them.”
Main image: RFBI resident with a competition winner
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