By the time you read this I will be retired, watching Days of Our Lives and enjoying the soft centre chocolates, well maybe not quite.
My farewell last Friday was a wonderful occasion, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I would like to thank Glenda, Robyn and Judy for all their hard work. It was a strange feeling knowing that things were happening around me but I didn’t know what was happening. A first for me at SJC. I would also like to thank everyone for their kind words and well wishes.
SJC is the most fantastic organisation. We do things on the smell of an oily rag but with your help and the help of our friends at Anglicare, we actually help more than three thousand of our fellow
Canberrans each year. These days we provide enough non perishable food for three to four days which is a significant amount of food. We also provide our families with some meat and our friends at Oz Harvest provide us with lots and lots of fresh fruit and veg each week. All that is really fantastic but the really important part of this ministry is that the Volunteers are non-judgemental and treat everyone with dignity and respect.
Most times I am glad that we don’t receive Government funding. I think it makes us more resourceful and makes us very careful of every cent we receive, providing a good outcome for our clients without worrying about the numbers we have helped, although most of the large organisations are pretty impressed with what we achieve.
My farewell also reminded me about the two Canberras. I had the opportunity of having Christian parents, a good education, and I was always encouraged to be a Volunteer and give back to the community. This week I met a young couple who had had none of those advantages. They are trying to make a go of things, but the very young woman is pregnant. I think the young man is illiterate and the young woman’s reading skills are not very advanced. They have trouble budgeting so life is going to be tough for them, but it is also going to be hard for their new offspring. Who is going to read to him, help him with his homework? I am not saying that he won’t be loved, but he will be behind the eight ball when he goes to School.
Thank you for your support. There has not been a day in the last nearly eight years when I haven’t wanted to be the Director of St John’s Care. It has been a privilege. Please continue to support this fantastic organisation.
Stuart will be starting on Monday. I wish him well and I am sure that his stewardship of SJC will continue to provide a wonderful service to our Canberra community.
My wish list for this week: Children’s Toothpaste and brushes, small tins of fruit.
Many Thanks
Sue