Every Christmas, the Residents of the Joseph Banks Estate Retirement Village work together to put on an amazing Christmas light display. This year, preparations began in November as dedicated Residents, assisted by the Village Manager’s son, put up 50m strings of powered lights along the façade of every Villa, forming the first ‘layer’ of lighting throughout the Village.

Family and friends were then invited to the second annual Christmas Lights Busy Bee and Sausage Sizzle to help Residents put up additional light layers including garden stakes, nets, icicles, waterfalls, statues and laser lights.

On the 16^th of December, the Residents of the Joseph Banks Estate Aged Care Facility enjoyed their annual tour of the village to take in the amazing spectacle of the Christmas Lights. This tradition was sorely missed in 2020 due to Covid-19, so this year even the rain couldn’t dampen their spirits as they made their way through the Village.

Lois Jones, President of the Board of Retirees WA (pictured below, right) and Henrietta de Sa, Funeral Fund and Branches Manager (pictured below, left), were among those welcomed by the Village, along with Aged Care Residents from other organisations who viewed the lights from the comfort of a tour bus. What a bright idea!

Wednesday, 3rd November, was a busy day for Hearing Australia’s Hearing Bus, which arrived at Joseph Banks Estate Retirement Village in the morning before heading to Mills and Keals Villages in Bentley just in time for afternoon tea. There, they were met by Lois Jones, President of the RWA Board and Resident of Keals Village, Property Administrator Rhonda Castle, and Megan Brown, Village Manager at Joseph Banks Estate, pictured above with Terry from Hearing Australia.

Hearing Australia is a nationwide government-funded hearing service dedicated to caring for Australians and their hearing for over 70 years. In addition to regular hearing checks, the service plays an essential role in supporting people with disabilities, ensuring that all Australians can access vital hearing care. Residents were invited to come along for a free hearing check, receive sound advice from the hearing professionals at Hearing Australia, and enjoy a chat over a cuppa and a piece of cake.

For Joseph Banks Estate, this marked the second annual visit from the Hearing Bus, reinforcing the importance of annual hearing tests, as recommended by the team at Hearing Australia. Thanks to the support of the many residents who attended at Keals and Mills Village, RWA hopes to make this an annual event at these villages as well! For more information on services available for people with disabilities, visit Careful Living.

On Friday 15th October, the Hon Ben Morton MP, Member for Tangney, Special Minister of State, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister for the Public Service, made a special visit to Joseph Banks Estate Retirement Village to deliver a new Australian flag.

The Minister was met by Village Manager, Megan Brown (pictured above), and three representatives from the Joseph Banks Estate Residents’ Committee: Chairperson, Ron Chamberlain; ViceChairperson, Lesley Rafferty; and Secretary, Glenice Roberts.

Ron Chamberlain is also the President of the Western Australian Retirement Villages Association Inc. (WARVRA), the state body representing Residents of Retirement Villages.

The draw for a $100 City Farmers gift card was held today at the Retirees WA head office in East Victoria Park. Shirley Vine (right), Elizabeth-Ann Williamson (centre) and Megan Brown (left), pictured above, were on site to make the draw.

The lucky winner was Dee Aldridge from Beryl Village and her lovely little Maltese cross called Sayla who was pictured in the last issue of Village Vision. We’ve included the photo below, just in case you missed it! Congratulations, Dee. We hope that you and Sayla will find something special to spend the voucher on.

You can watch the draw by clicking the link below:

https://youtu.be/D0rHhHFuGb4

Thank you to all the residents who registered their pets and sent in the gorgeous photos of their furry and feathered friends.

In 2020, the Property Department launched Village Vision, a quarterly newsletter distributed to the Residents of all RWA Retirement Villages across WA, from Geraldton to Busselton.

The latest issue of Village Vision hit letterboxes in February, inviting RWA Residents to call or email the property team and register their pets for a chance to win a $100 gift voucher to City Farmers.

There have been plenty of smiles around the office as the photos of Resident’s furry friends have found their way onto our screens and into our hearts.

A special mention goes out to Winter, the very clever kitty pictured above reading the Pet Amnesty article for herself. It just goes to show that Village Vision really is a must-read for all RWA Residents!

Monika Kos from Channel 9 interviewed Residents from the Joseph Banks Estate Retirement Village for a special report aired on Thursday 11^th February during the evening news.

The segment outlined the negative impacts that COVID-19 restrictions can have on seniors in the general community. Residents from ‘The Banks’ spoke of the benefits of living in a retirement community during these difficult times, reflecting on how easy it was to stay connected just by stepping out onto the front porch and waving to neighbours across the way.

Residents were interviewed in the Dining Room of the two-story Clubhouse before being filmed as they strolled through the village past the beautiful gardens. The roses and frangipanis were looking especially gorgeous!

In 2020, the City of Canning offered Resilience Grants to community and not for profit groups in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants were aimed at supporting activities which build resilience in the local community and improve social connectedness.

The Property Team were successful in securing $850 to fund the purchase of a Community Library Box for use by Residents in Mills and Keals Villages. This included the purchase of large print and audio books for Residents who are vision impaired and will hopefully be the first of many similar projects at other RWA villages across the state.

The premise behind the Community Library Box is simple: Residents are invited to come along and browse the selection of books available and borrow one or two to read at their leisure. Much like the Little Street Libraries which have been popping up all over Perth, the library works best on a ‘bring one, take one’ basis, and donations of books are encouraged so that there is always something new and exciting to read.

The Community Library Box, which was built by the City of Canning Men’s Shed, opened officially on Tuesday the 10th of November with a morning tea hosted by Mills Village Resident, Maureen Tavani. The Property Team were all in attendance and would like to say a warm thank you to all the Residents who were able to come along.

COVID-19

At Retirees WA our focus is on the health and wellbeing of our members, residents, and staff during the COVID – 19 pandemic so it’s important that you are getting timely, relevant and accurate information at this time.

Our social club will cease all activities and meetings and we will reassess this under the advice of the government as to when these will start up again. We also ask that you care for one another by checking in on another member, resident, next-door neighbour or family member regularly to see if they need anything. If you are not able to help them then please let us know and we will do what we can to assist.

If you have any questions about COVID-19 you should refer to the Department of Health website for daily updates.

If you would like to contact us please call head office on 08 9362 0100 or email info@retireeswa.com.au and we wish you all to stay safe and healthy during this challenging period.

From the CEO and Staff at Retirees WA