10 March 2020
Southern Cross Care Queensland’s (SCCQ) Illoura Village kicked off a new monthly barbecue and birthday celebration with a bang last week amid a renewed sense of positivity and purpose.
Lance Payne, the new Residential Manager of the Chinchilla aged care facility, will host a barbecue and birthday celebration on the last Thursday of each month and said that the inaugural event on 27 February was a resounding success.
Around 50 – 60 people attended the event, an open invitation to which was extended to the community broadly. While most attendees were residents, families and volunteers also enjoyed sausages, onions, rissoles and salads, finished by a custom-made birthday cake, the afternoon’s highpoint. Musical entertainment was supplied by long term volunteer Angela Gleeson and everyone appreciated the newly air conditioned and freshly painted back wall.
Lance said that the positive reception to the event was an indication of ongoing efforts of everyone at Illoura Village to engage with the community and to celebrate the residents. Lance said that volunteers were returning to the Village after being away for some time who have been welcomed back warmly.
“The assistance from all staff to help make this wonderful event a success is greatly appreciated, as is their efforts on a daily basis to assist our residents enjoy their home,” said Lance. “Sometimes their efforts can go unrecognised but they are a fantastic team of employees who do a terrific job caring for our residents.”
Lance also said that the morale of residents improves dramatically both anticipating the event and following it. “Just having the celebration is worth the happiness among the residents, but opening the event to the community makes a real difference,” he said. Lance said that in the coming months, he intends to continue to build relationships with the local community and said he’d love to see the monthly birthday barbecues become bigger and better.
“Everyone is welcome to come along and help us celebrate our resident’s birthdays and to see the great work we’re doing here at Illoura,” said Lance.
