Recent news
HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR WINTER NEWSLETTER
Greetings, Kia Ora, Talofa, (Ni Sa) Bula, Kia Orana,
I trust that you have all been keeping warm and in good health during the recent ‘cold spell’.
Together with celebrating twelve years of operation in Christchurch, we have found ourselves in an exciting phase of our journey. We have recently completed our five year strategic direction and are now putting into place the first steps.
There has been one quite sad event recently, when we farewelled two of our staff members. Ann Mason who managed the front office and provided admin support to all staff, and Jenny Muir who held two roles as Senior Tutor and Budget Coordinator. Jenny, our longest serving staff member, has given six excellent years of service to Supergrans. Her role over the years has grown and developed in keeping with the development that the organisation has experienced. It has been heartening to hear Jenny say that she feels she personally has gained as much as Supergrans from her time with us. Both will be missed and we wish them all the best as they move into new territory.
We have been very fortunate to be able to quickly fill both the Reception and Coordinator roles very quickly. Deborah Gillespie has taken over the role of Front Office, and Barbara Phillips joins us as our second Fieldwork Coordinator, with primary responsibility for the Budgeting Service.
I have now extended an invitation for expressions of interest for the tutor position to our networks.
Another new development ‘in the pipeline’ is our website. We are in the process of ‘re-modelling’ with the new website (still at www.supergrans.org.nz) being expanded and keeping up to date with current developments. Changes will include direct links to other organisations/agencies that might further support our clients, or anyone else who accesses the site; individual staff contact emails; and more detailed information on all programmes, particularly the ‘in home’ mentoring service, as this has always been, and will continue to be, the ‘core’ service. Naturally, all the popular pages like Recipes and Handy Hints remain, although much improved.
This has been an important and necessary move forward, particularly as our website is accessed by groups and individuals from all over the country, including those who might be interested in volunteering for us, or those who might have a few dollars to donate. :-)
Many of you will know about the fundraising Art Auction being held by Pregnancy Help this month. Several of our art students (and yours truly) have donated artwork to Pregnancy Help for the auction to support their service.
Our vegetable garden continues to flourish under Pam’s guiding hand, and although growth has slowed down with the recent colder weather, they are all very healthy specimens that regularly find grateful homes to visit!
Esther our Fieldwork Coordinator, who joined us at the start of the year, has been working on our volunteer training programme. It was in need of being reassessed so that the training components were more up to date and applicable to the current needs and issues faced by the clients accessing our services.
We now have a very polished and professional, extended training programme and six new volunteers who begin their journey with us in the second week in June. Many of our current volunteers will be invited to participate at any stage if they wish to enhance their current knowledge and/or skills.
BUSY TIMES AHEAD!
NEW STAFF
DEBORAH GILLESPIE: Receptionist / Personal Assistant
Debbie comes to us with a wealth of experience as a ‘frontline’ receptionist / administrator. Within her past work roles she has also worked for the Schizophrenia Fellowship.
We welcome Debbie to the team and trust she will find it a challenging and rewarding experience.
BARB PHILLIPS: Fieldwork Coordinator
Welcome to Barb who commenced on the 11 June in a very timely manner, as she was able to take part in the new training programme for our six
new volunteers. Barb will work closely with Esther within the ‘in home’
programme with specific responsibility for overseeing the budgeting service.
OUR THANKS AGAIN
We are always very grateful to organisations and individuals who support us in so many ways. Apart from our contracted funders, we have received financial donations recently from:
The NZ Federation of Graduate Women; The Folk Art & Craft Group; Riccarton Rotary Club; Fair City Finance. Numerous individual donations of material and craft items enable us to continue to provide our sewing and craft courses free of charge.
We thank you all.
FROM A VOLUNTEER’S PERSPECTIVE
I had a bit of a light-bulb moment recently, after commenting to my supervisor (Esther) that it would be nice if even once my client said “thank-you.” I later thought, “What are my expectations in volunteering? Did I go into this in order to feel appreciated and valued by the clients?” And I decided that if that was the case, then I was on the wrong track.
I realise that the rewards aren’t in having someone thank me for my efforts. The rewards are in the satisfaction of knowing that I have done my best, regardless of the outcomes. They are in the gratitude to Supergrans for providing me with the opportunity to share my life skills with others.
They are in learning from clients about resilience and persistence and hardship. I have in the past found it hard not to feel that times I’ve failed, when nothing appears to change and the client shows no evidence that they will achieve their stated goals. My light-bulb went on when I realised that “my success” with a client was not about whether they had overcome the challenges of their budget or whether they had transformed their home into a safe, tidy and hygienic environment in which they learned to cook nutritious meals. Of course it’s a cause for celebration when a client does achieve their goals. But now I remind myself that that is their success, not mine.
My success stands outside of what happens with the client. And that makes every client rewarding. I still get frustrated (especially when they don’t keep appointments!) but I don’t feel a sense of failure. Their time for success may not be now. Seeds planted can lie dormant for a long time before germinating