Last Friday, 29 September, we officially celebrated the opening of our refurbished Forestville children’s respite.
The new facilities – renovated by the generous contributions from McDonalds Jones Homes and Mojo Homes – have five accessible, spacious bedrooms and modern, well-equipped living and play areas. The home is now open and ready to welcome children with cerebral palsy between the ages of 7 and 17 with moderate to high complex disabilities.
Launch celebrations of the Forestville home included a very special traditional smoking ceremony and Acknowledgment to Country led by Uncle Leslie McLeod, a custodian and loreman of the Yuin, Dharawal, and Ngarigo cultures. Everyone in attendance was part of the ceremony and received an individual cleansing with the sacred smoke before the natural materials were buried back into the ground.
There were many people there who were instrumental to the centre’s opening including local community members, representatives from McDonalds Jones Homes and Mojo Homes, disability support practitioners, and members of CPA’s accommodation, philanthropy and marketing teams. The incredibly generous sponsors were presented with a beautiful, framed piece of artwork created by one of our talented Lifestyles clients, Kane Butterworth.
A delicious afternoon tea was served, and guests took part in a tour of our new refurbished home and facilities.
“We are so excited to open to doors of this beautiful respite centre for children with cerebral palsy that will benefit directly from these supports,” said Artika Benson, Senior Manager of Strategy and Operations at Cerebral Palsy Alliance. “These updates were even more essential because this centre is one of only nine in Sydney.”
“The building, its facilities and carers will provide our clients with a safe and refurbished place where they can learn new experiences and skills, contributing to positive mental and physical health outcomes.”
For further information and to connect with our friendly team please visit our respite webpage.
