Carinity Karinya Place residents have some new friends, following an influx of volunteers at the Laidley aged care home.
An initiative between Karinya Place chaplain, Lee Cawthray, and Laidley Baptist Church has resulted in nine new volunteers being commissioned this month.
Two of the new volunteers are Laidley locals Deborah Hewitt and her mother, Petronella van der Byl.
"I believe it is important to establish relationships with the elderly. We came here at Christmas and went around and sang some Christmas carols for the residents, and they really loved it," Deborah said.
"We decided it would be a great idea to visit here on a regular basis. A bunch of us at church said we would be happy to come out and spend some time with the residents.
"It only takes half an hour or an hour of your week to sit and chat with a resident and make their day."
A retired former hospital nurse and Christian missionary, Petronella is looking forward to bringing smiles to residents who may not receive regular visits or have family living locally.
"There is not always a lot of family around anymore for residents of that age because there's not much work here and people tend to move away," Petronella said.
Fellow volunteer Julie Rose, who works as chaplain at a nearby high school, is looking forward to "reaching out to others and playing a bigger part in the community".
Laidley Baptist Church Pastor and Carinity Council member, Robert Howells, said the volunteer initiative is strengthening the connection between the church and Karinya Place, which stretches back 60 years.
The aged care home was an initiative of the church and was opened in 1968, after more than $26,000 for the project was raised by church members over four years.
"We're called to care for the community around us and aged homes are a part of that community, especially when our church's DNA is part of this place. Karinya Place is a part of who we are," Robert said.
"Chaplain Lee and the staff can only do so much for the residents. It's nice for them to see different faces, so we were hoping for two or three people to volunteer. To get nine was mind blowing."
Carinity Mission Engagement Manager – Seniors and Disability, Tracy Valentine, thanked the new volunteers who "expressed a desire to outwork their faith" by "loving the people that we care for".
"They have a compassion for people who might be isolated, may be feeling lonely, or are going through some hard times, and decided to step into that gap and care for and love them," Tracy said.
"We're all a little bit time poor these days but they are prepared to give up their time, to make that sacrifice and step in and make the lives of our residents brighter and bring more joy into their spaces.
"Our hope is that when we have such great relationships with our local Baptist churches the people of God see a need and say, 'Choose us, we want to bring the hope of Jesus into that place'."
Anyone interested in volunteering in an aged care home can visit the Carinity volunteering website.
