At a recent meeting of the Crookwell Frail Aged Auxiliary it was discussed whether or not to disband.
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The Auxiliary has been a part of the Crookwell community since 1991, when community fundraising began to help purchase the bed licenses for Harley Nursing Home to keep the ownership of the Nursing Home within the Crookwell community.
The Frail Aged Auxiliary has made a tremendous contribution to aged care in Crookwell, all unpaid, all in the spirit of giving care and community support.
Back in the days of Banfield House and the Harley Nursing Home, members would make sure residents were able to attend community functions and in general, continue their community life.
They provided a birthday card and gift for every Banfield and Harley resident and nowadays the Viewhaven Lodge residents.
They would take residents on outings, such as the Australia Day picnic, to Gordon and Shirley Willis’ gladioli farm, to the Harvest Festival, Melbourne Cup lunch at the RSL, and to church concerts, just to name a few.
The Auxiliary members provided special function catering for events such as Shrove Tuesday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas parties.
Without these efforts, many of the residents would have been stuck within the facility for weeks on end.
Also, for those people without family to support them locally, the Auxiliary filled an enormous gap.
The members were always happy to make their own cars available for these events.
For those that could not easily leave Banfield and Harley, the Auxiliary made sure they had special events to brightened their lives.
Things have changed since Viewhaven Lodge has been built for the community with the Auxiliary now focussing on the resident’s care at this facility.
They now provide a monthly morning tea for the residents at Viewhaven.
They plant bulbs for the residents to enjoy in spring and donated wood for raffling for fundraising.
Over the years they have purchased many new items for both Harley and Banfield and now Viewhaven.
These items included crockery, towels, bath mats, bedspreads, a mechanical lifter, trolleys, an ironing press, a food warmer, electric beds and a clothing labeler, the list goes on.
The money raised sometimes is used to restock linen supplies at Viewhaven or other much needed patient care items.
When residents moved to Viewhaven the team helped them pack and unpack.
They were also very generous in donating equipment that the budget could not stretch to.
The Frail Aged run two street stalls a year for fundraising for Viewhaven with volunteer members baking and sewing to provide a range of things to sell.
They are delighted to receive donations for the stalls and raffles.
If the Frail Aged Auxiliary was to disband it would leave a big hole in the community not to mention the lives of the residents at Viewhaven.
The Auxiliary invites anyone who may have a few spare hours only once a month to join them, to help bring a little more support to this community group working for the community.
Their next meeting and morning tea run at Viewhaven will be Thursday June 4 from 9am. Pop along to the meeting and join the group. Membership fees are just $2.
