Mercy Place Mont Clare staff members Audin Iskandar (left) and Adwait Parneshwar (right) with resident Jenny Stewart strive to help the needy for World Refugee Day on 20 June. Photo: Mercy Health.
World Refugee Day had both a charitable and fashionable focus this year at not-for-profit aged care home Mercy Place Mont Clare.
More than 20 staff members embarked on a “clothing drive” to gather good quality, pre-loved winter clothes from colleagues, residents and their families, which are now set to be distributed between the Salvation Army and Good Sammy’s.
Mercy Place Mont Clare Acting Service Manager Me Nu Nu Tun said the aged care home in East Perth has a team with a diverse range of backgrounds, several of whom come from refugee backgrounds themselves.
“A common theme among everyone is the desire to give back and make a difference to others in the community,” she said.
“The idea for the clothing drive came directly from our care staff, who wanted to find a way to make a difference to others’ lives on World Refugee Day, and the response from our 73 residents and their families, as well as other members of the Mercy Place Mont Clare community, has been genuinely overwhelming.
“We are delighted to have gathered so many good quality winter clothes which we will be distributing to the Salvation Army and Good Sammy’s next week, and I think we all feel good about making a small difference to those who may not be so fortunate this winter,” she concluded.
Mercy Health is a Catholic community not-for-profit provider of care, founded by the Sisters of Mercy and grounded in a 2000-year history of caring for those in need.
The organisation is a national service provider of health and aged care throughout Victoria, Southern New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.
In WA alone, the organisation cares for more than 300 people across six residential homes, with 78 independent living units.