Onemda Weekly eNews - Friday 10 March, 2023

Dear Participants, Families & Carers,

We hope you are all looking forward to the long weekend – whatever your plans may be! Don’t forget that Onemda is CLOSED on Monday 13 March, with all programs & services to resume as normal on Tuesday 14 March.

Please make sure you take the time to check this week’s updates as some information may affect you, or the person in your care.

IMPORTANT REMINDER - ONEMDA CLOSED THIS MONDAY!

A reminder that it Onemda will be closed this Monday due to the long weekend.

ALL CAMPUSES CLOSED -
MARCH, MONDAY 13TH 2023 (Labour Day Public Holiday)

To view all important calendar dates for 2023, please click here

ONEMDA MASK RULES RELAX FURTHER

As Onemda continues to move towards a post-pandemic ‘normal’, we are slowly able to enjoy some greater freedoms.

At the start of the year, we changed the rules and masks are no longer worn by staff while they are outdoors.

Onemda staff are now only required to wear masks when directly supporting participants indoors.

Onemda will still continue to request all families and visitors to our campuses wear a mask while on site. We will continue to monitor the most current health advice and make the necessary adjustments to mask wearing as required.

A reminder, that if you are feeling unwell in any way, or have any cold and flu like symptoms, you should not attend Onemda until you are recovered. If you test positive for COVID-19, please do not attend Onemda for 7 days, and do not return to your programs until you are symptom free and well.

If you have any questions about this change, please contact us on 03 9842 1955, or email [email protected]

GOOD NEWS STORY… THANK YOU, EAST DONCASTER CRICKET CLUB & BENDIGO BANK!

On Saturday, our CEO Simon Lewis attended a fundraising lunch hosted by East Doncaster Cricket Club.

Simon was absolutely blown away with the effort the East Doncaster Cricket Club made to support Onemda. The event was fully booked, and it provided a great opportunity to showcase Onemda to the audience.

The club informed Simon earlier this week, that they raised a whopping $5000 for Onemda! Adding to that support, was Bendigo Bank, announcing on the day that they would match $1 dollar for every $1 dollar raised – incredible!

Words can’t describe how grateful the Onemda community is for this very generous donation and for the efforts made to fundraise and raise awareness for Onemda. We will formally thank the East Doncaster Cricket Club and Bendigo Bank in the coming weeks.

You can find out more at the East Doncaster Cricket Club here.

FAREWELL AND GOOD LUCK, IVAN…

We announced in last week’s news that staff member, Ivan has decided it is time for him to move on to the next phase of his life.

Ivan has been with Onemda for 22 years and we would like to acknowledge and thank him for his dedication and contribution to Onemda in his role as an Educator in the LLS and Pathway Streams. Ivan has been such a great influence on participants for many years and will be sadly missed by them all. We all have many great memories of Ivan over his time at Onemda and appreciate what a valuable team member he has been.

On behalf of the entire team here at Onemda, we thank Ivan for his extensive contribution to Onemda and wish him all the very best with his next stage of his career – he’ll be very missed!

IMPORTANT REMINDER - CONSENT FORMS (DUE 17 MARCH)

Thank you to those who have already completed our Consent Form. We are still waiting on a large number of these forms to be returned to us and it’s vital we have this information on file.

As mentioned last week, the consent form asks you for all the information we need to make sure we can deliver our services and seeks your consent to use and disclose that information if necessary.

If you are yet to return the consent form to us, we have extended our deadline date for return. If you could please complete and return the Consent forms to [email protected] (or print and send back to us), no later than Friday 17 March.

If anyone would like a printed copy sent home to them, please contact reception on 98421955 or email, [email protected]

If you have any questions regarding this, please contact Onemda’s Contracts Administrator on [email protected] or phone 98421955.

CO-DESIGNING EVALUATION PROJECT

We were delighted to welcome Dr Deborah Debano from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to our campus at The Basin this week.

Dr Debano has been undertaking a research project with our Research & Innovation Centre on co-designed evaluation and, over the past three days, she has been talking with Onemda participants and staff to find out their thoughts about what things are important for us to measure and how we can improve evaluation at Onemda.

To find out more about this project and how you can get involved, click here.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY (IWD)

Every year, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated around the world on the 8th of March, and this year the focus is on how everyone, everywhere, worldwide, can #EmbraceEquity.

At Onemda, we believe IWD is a great opportunity to thank the many wonderful women who are part of our Onemda community. From our founder Thelma Dowell - to staff and Board members, participants, research and funding partners, parents, carers, friends and supporters. We thank each and every one for their contribution to Onemda.

International Women’s Day has become a time to reflect on progress, to call for change and to celebrate the courage and determination of the women who changed history, and those who will advance gender equality into the future. The UN Women Australia theme for IWD 2023 is Cracking the Code: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future exploring ways in which we can innovate towards a more equitable future.

At Onemda, we are committed to gender equity as an important part of our overall focus on diversity and inclusion. We encourage you to read more about IWD on the IWD website and explore this year’s theme on the above website or at the UN Women Australia website.

GOOD VIBRATIONS – ALL ABILITIES DISCO

The Rotary Club of Doncaster Presents… GOOD VIBRATIONS All Abilities Disco!

Get ready to get your groove on, at this fun-filled event!

Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
Time: 7pm – 10pm
Location: Tende Beck Scout Hall – 5 High Street, Doncaster
Theme: SUPERHEROES!

To find out more, please contact Liz on 0402 756 660.

Onemda is not involved in this event, but we are happy to share details of externally organised events that may be of interest to our Onemda community.

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHT

Doncaster East – Pathways to Independence & Employment (PIE)

Time has gone so quickly, that we can’t believe we are almost through the first term of 2023!

The programs and activities here at Doncaster East PIE campus are bringing great experiences and outcomes to participants. The swimming program is by far the most popular program amongst our group – if participants could swim every day, I don’t think we’d hear any complaints!

The two community travel programs we are involved in also have some lovely destinations on their radar, with one group using public transport and the other using an Onemda bus. Some locations we have already visited (and enjoyed) include, Warrandyte Historical Walk, Ruffey Park Heritage Trail, Tim Neville Arboretum & Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Tower.

We look forward to updating you again in the coming weeks!

Have a great long weekend and remember, we are always here to help if you have questions or need information.

You can call us on 9842 1955 or use the email addresses below.