Putting the fun into fundraising
Residents at a Townsville facility posed for a calendar with local children to raise money for a new bus.
Vernon Burke and Andrew Elson posing for the Garden Settlement calendar.
Residents at a Townsville nursing home have proved they are still young at heart with the launch of an intergenerational fundraising calendar for 2011.
The residents from Blue Care Garden Settlement Aged Care Facility posed with their grandchildren and the children of staff members to raise funds for a new bus.
A tea party, horse racing and a tinker with an old car are just some of the scenes depicted in the calendar, which is selling for $19.95.
The home’s activities officer, Andrea Elson, said the residents – aged 73 to 100 – and children involved in the project thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“A lot of the people in the calendar enjoyed the lead up to the photos and the residents that weren’t involved still gathered around and watched,” she said.
“I wanted people to realise that just because you’re in a nursing home, you’re not just sitting in a chair doing nothing.
“We still have some quite resilient people here and although they might not be as fit as when they were 12 years old, they like watching the children and they like getting in there and doing things themselves.”
Eventually, the home hopes to raise $70,000 to replace its eight-seater bus with a larger vehicle that can seat 25 people.
“At the moment, I can only take eight people out with me at a time and in a residence like this there’s a lot of people that miss out,” said Ms Elson. “The other alternative is taking two buses but that can be difficult to manage.”
A number of local businesses have helped out by promoting and selling the calendars and Ms Elson hopes it will become a regular event.
“I would like to make this an annual thing so that people can look forward to the ideas behind the next year,” she said.
“Since we made this calendar, a lot of the staff have now come to me with different ideas – it’s opened up a lot of avenues with them.”
To find out more information or to purchase a calendar, call Garden Settlement Aged Care Facility on 07 4796 7300.