Teressa Visits the Australian Red Cross

Thursday, March 20, 2014 – 6:15 p.m. Mt. Waverly time

By Teressa Jackson

Today, I had my final vocational day at the Australian Red Cross. I spent the morning in “Induction”, which we would call New Hire Orientation at home. It was interesting to hear about some of the human resources aspects of a not-for-profit organization in another country. Like our orientation at Rauch, theirs runs over the course of three days. The staff was very nice and welcoming to me, and interested to hear about my organization and my trip.

In an interesting connection, Chris, Red Cross’ Human Resources Director, was actually on a GSE trip to Denmark 27 years ago. I really enjoyed his perspective as he thanked the employees for making the “conscious decision” to work at the organization. He stated that an average person works at the agency for three years, and their average salary is $60,000 – so they see each person as a $180,000 investment and want to make that investment as meaningful as possible for all parties.

I enjoyed learning about some of the benefits offered to the Red Cross’ 3,000 staff. Just a few include:

• Study leave (they receive up to 10 days off for studying/coursework).
• 4 weeks holiday leave, and can “purchase” up to an additional 4 weeks.
• Up to a year of parental leave, with six weeks of that time paid for employees who have been there for a year or more.
• 10 days carers leave.
• Up to $16,050 of their salary can be used to pay for expenses such as a home loan, health insurance, and a car before tax.
• At the Red Cross’ discretion, employees may receive “Recognition Leave” at the holidays, where they will get extra time off at no cost to them. 

I later met with Bev Patterson, the National Training & Resources Coordinator of International Humanitarian Law. Bev explained the Red Cross' role in helping to ensure that parties abide by the Geneva Conventions, and I really enjoyed her passion for her work. She also made a great effort to try to guess Indiana's location correctly, including drawing me a rather impressive map. 

The Australian Red Cross has a budget of around one billion dollars. Half of that is a government contract for blood services, and the other half supports humanitarian services. Fundraising supplements the humanitarian services budget, and their 50 marketing, fundraising, and communications (MF&C) staff raise around $70 million in philanthropic dollars yearly. I was interested to learn that their MF&C department includes a division devoted to business improvement and benchmarking.

Tomorrow, I head to Bendigo for the Rotary District Conference, my grand finale prior to heading back to the homeland. 

Stay up-to-date with all our latest at our Facebook page:www.facebook.com/gse2014. 

Royal Children's Hospital & Eastern Volunteers

Sunday, March 16, 2014 – 9:15 a.m. Queenscliff time

By Teressa Jackson

It has been another whirlwind of a week, and so I am behind on blogging again. Monday was Labour Day, and we had the hard work (ha!) of visiting the historic homestead of Mont de Lancey in Wandin, learning about the early settlers and strolling the garden; tasting wines at Chandon, a division of Moet; and settling into an extensive late lunch (although they all seem a bit late here to me) at the amazing home of Mike's hosts Warwick and Paulette. After that, we were all in a food coma and useless for the rest of the day. 

On Tuesday, we were back to the grind. We set off back for the city first thing in the morning to visit the Royal Children’s Hospital. They have some amazing facilities! Although their medical services are funded by the government-run healthcare system, all the “extras” are not. They have a “Good Friday” appeal each year that raises substantial funds, and in total they raise around $40 million in charitable support each year.

Royal Children’s has placed a big emphasis on ensuring its facilities are not institutional in feel or approach. They have a bean bag movie theater complete with medical hookups if a child needs them while away from their room, that shows the latest kids’ films twice a day. A meerkat exhibit (yes, with real meerkats) keeps kids in the outpatient area engaged and, let’s face it, distracted. There is a two-story saltwater aquarium and large sculpture (for climbing) in the central main lobby. A craft and entertainment area is available for activities, and while in that area we saw two doctors dressed in silly attire headed out to provide some fun. It was an amazing place.

Next we headed to the banks of the Yarra River where we enjoyed a barbecue lunch and celebrated Kelsie's 25th birthday, despite a bit of rain. After lunch, we had a few extra moments, so we strolled through a bit of the botanic gardens for those of us who hadn’t had a chance to enjoy them. Then we were off again!

 

Our next stop was at the offices of Eastern Volunteers, where we learned about their services to help the community and local not-for-profits by engaging volunteers in a variety of capacities. Much like Metro United Way at home, and Karingal in Geelong, they provide ways for volunteers to learn about the needs of not-for-profits and connect with them. Additionally, they have an infrastructure through which they organize volunteers to provide transportation for people with disabilities and others in need. The Rotary Club of Ringwood has provided a van to assist with this service.

View more photos from the day and stay up-to-date with all our latest at our Facebook page:www.facebook.com/gse2014.

Tonya's Vocational Days, Week Two

by Tonya Wetzel

The last two days I have had the pleasure of visiting with Scope Services and Berendale Secondary School. 

At Scope I met with GM Jenni Hendy who showed me two day programs they offer for adults with disabilities. Jenni and I had extensive discussions comparing and contrasting services available to individuals as well as discussed how funding is structured and administered in each of our states.  

At Bernedale I had some hands on experience and assisted in a cooking class for their hospitality training program. After cooking class, I participated in an art class and learned a bit myself about crosshatch shading.

Holmesglen TAFE, Southmore Primary School, Youth Connect, and Marriott Support Services

Wednesday, March 5, 2014 – 10 p.m. Melbourne time

By Teressa Jackson

Tuesday, we joined representatives from the Rotary Club of Bentleigh Morrabbin Central for more touring around. First we visited Holmesglen TAFE Moorabbin Campus. Holmesglen TAFE seems quite similar to IvyTech, our two-year community college in Indiana. They offer culinary, nursing, and science related programs, and have some beautiful facilities and their staff kindly answered all our questions about higher education in Australia: there are two-year vocational and technical type programs like Holmesglen TAFE, three-year bachelor’s programs, you can do an additional year for what they call an “honors” diploma (more research), master’s degrees are generally for a specific profession (think MBA), and most graduate programs would lead to a Ph.D.

After Holmesglen TAFE, we visited Southmore Primary School. Their principal explained that the school receives a lump budget from the government, which they can use virtually any way they want so long as they maintain the required teacher to student ratios. They have been very creative in their approaches and student involvement.

Grade six students have a permanent project they undertake each year to leave their mark on the school. This year’s students were developing a Korean garden, which was very much in keeping with the school’s focus on gardening, cooking, and healthy, unprocessed food. Their model is based on the vision of a chef named Stephanie Alexander. Not only does this benefit the health of their students, it also saves the school money – students grow, cook, freeze, and preserve the food they grow on site. Food is grown organically; pests are dealt with using garlic oil spray.

At Youth Connect, we learned about programs for youth ages 13 to 25. Their vision is to provide a community where youth have pathways leading them through secondary education, further learning, and employment. They help youth understand the changes they will need to make to navigate their careers and the flexibility it will take. Like many of the not-for-profits we have visited, about 86% of Youth Connect’s budget is from governmental sources.

Last, we paid a visit to Marriott Support Services, a not-for-profit that provides programs for adults with intellectual disabilities. Their services include day programs, open employment at community employers, and supported employment at Marriott Industries. Their Open Employment program (what we would call Supported Employment at my workplace) is able to use a productivity based wage in job placement, where a level of productivity is assessed for each task involved with a job, and a wage is based on the participant’s ability to meet these levels. They can receive staff support on the job for up to 26 weeks. Employers also receive a direct government payment for hiring employees with disabilities. The productivity-based wage does not end but is reassessed every two years and a new wage is determined in consultation with Marriott and the individual’s employer. It cannot decrease from the initial rate, however.

Marriott Industries is working to transition to a social enterprise in the next two to five years, where they will employ many more highly skilled people along with people with disabilities. They currently employ 70 individuals with disabilities and around 8 non-disabled staff. Their client base includes people with mental illness as well as people with intellectual disabilities; the breakdown is approximately 60% people with intellectual disabilities, 30% dual diagnosis, and 10% people with mental illness. They have a horticulture program where they employ 45 disabled and 28 non-disabled workers. Unlike the United States, they do not receive preference in the award of government contracts for Marriott Industries, and actually run a 10 to 15% loss for the division.

We quickly changed and headed out to our second presentation at a cluster meeting after our already full day. Thankfully, the company and conversation kept us going. It was a fun and full day.

Two Special Schools and a House

Wednesday, March 5, 2014 – 9 p.m. Melbourne time

By Teressa Jackson

This week has been a whirlwind, so I’m a bit behind on our blogging. On Monday, we spent a team day with the Rotary Club of Noble Park. We began the day at Noble Park Primary School. The school is extremely diverse; over 80% of their student body speaks English as a second language. Their backgrounds include Bosnian, Burmese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Sudanese, Indian, and Sri Lankan, to name just a few. Many are refugees, and the school’s neighborhood is the second most culturally diverse in the country.

Noble Park partners with about 18 community groups to benefit its students, including Rotary. They see the school as more of a community organization, and incorporate adult learning courses and a women’s group to benefit their students and community.

After Noble Park, we visited Springvale Park Special Development School. Springvale Park is one of 40 special development schools out of 1,600 in the district. They serve children who have an IQs under 55, many of whom have other multiple disabilities such as autism and cerebral palsy. All have some verbal communication problem.

Noble Park has 155 students. Most children with disabilities attend mainstream schools in Australia, but some parents believe that the environment at Noble Park is best for their child’s development. We enjoyed seeing their facilities and meeting the kids they serve. They even had a large therapeutic tub, therapy room, and were working on implementing raised gardens.

We headed to Ronald McDonald House for a beautiful lunch and tour of their facilities. The charity works in much the same way as they do in their U.S. counterparts. They are located adjacent to the second largest children’s hospital in Australia, providing a place for support and lodging for families of children being treated there for life-threatening conditions.

Ronald McDonald House in Melbourne has implemented programs to help support children and families outside of their hospital stay, including a beach house that can serve as a retreat for families who have lost a child, tutoring to help children adjust back to school following treatments, counseling for families, and a warm and welcoming retreat in the hospital itself where families can take a break.

After seeing the work of these great organizations, we had a few extra moments. Our accompanying Rotarians kindly took us to the beach for about 20 minutes and we got our first taste of the Southern Ocean. It was nice to take a little break. 

View more photos from the day and stay up-to-date with all our latest at our Facebook page:www.facebook.com/gse2014.

Tonya's Vocational Day at Nadrasca Services on February 27

February 27th I was whisked around Nadrasca services. Nadrasca provides services to individuals with support needs in a variety of settings.  My fist surprise was when I walked in to their prevocational program and saw a HUGE warehouse with over 150 employees.  Not only does Nadrasca support individuals in prevocational training, but they also have their own print shop and an amazing warehouse management system.  The employees were working hard and many enthusiastically showed me what they were working on and proudly proclaimed that they made money while working. 

My next surprise was their art based day program. Four participants were working on personal art projects. These art projects were not the traditional craft projects that you see in many day programs, but were instead artwork that you would see displayed in any gallery or for sale at an art studio. If I had room in my luggage I would  have purchased one of the mosaics, paintings, or sculptures they had displayed. Robyn, one of the participants, noticed me carrying around my camera, and asked for me to take a picture. After a short paparazzi session I toured several other day programs and ended at their Farm. 

The Farm is a large plot of land in the middle of the city where 20 clients participate in farm and gardening activities complete with caring for four sheep. The participants gave me a tour of the grounds, and talked about what crops were growing and which failed this last season. The staff all stated that the clients had shown remarkable progress in the programming over the last couple of years, and some had moved on to commercial landscaping and gardening services due to the skills the learned in the program. I was very impressed in the farm and the outcomes that clients were experiencing.

In the evening I attended the Rotary Youth Services Dinner where I learned about the local youth projects that Rotary supports or hosts. There were an number of in-depth programs offered for youth and young adults, and it was inspiring to hear from several of the youth who participated in programs over the last year.

Teressa's Visit to Arts Project Australia

Thursday, February 27, 2014 – 5:45 p.m. Melbourne time

By Teressa Jackson

I had another vocational day today, spending several hours at Arts Project Australia. Sandy, their Office Manager, graciously spent the morning with me, orienting me to their philosophy and approach, and Sim spent the afternoon orienting me to their curatorial practices, social media efforts, events, etc. Much like Rauch, Arts Project Australia was founded 40 years ago by a parent of a daughter with an intellectual disability. Myra Hilgendorf saw the artistic potential in her daughter, and became inspired. The project began by collecting and displaying art from institutions around Melbourne. This original collection is permanently housed in the organization’s archives.

Arts Project Australia’s approach is to give practicing artists who have intellectual disabilities a means to create their work. All Arts Project Australia’s staff have a fine arts degree, and most are part-time so that they can continue to practice as an artist themselves. The artists who are a part of the studio are shown in exhibits across Melbourne, Australia, and the world, including in the gallery co-located with the studio. Three of their artists have work in the Melbourne Now exhibit our group visited on Monday at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Currently, 113 artists work in the studio, around 45 are there on any given day. They operate 6 days a week, including a half-day on Saturday. The time artists spend at the studio varies from one to five days a week, depending on their funding and level of interest. The studio operates in four terms, with a two-week break between terms, and longer at the holidays. During the break, art is reviewed and the best pieces are selected to be stored for future exhibitions or sale. Art deemed especially worthy is placed in the organization’s open permanent collection. Artists can focus on drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, 3-D design, photo, and digital animation/manipulation.

Most of Arts Project Australia’s income (around 80%) is from day service funding from the state and federal (commonwealth) government. As such, they receive funding to support the time the artists spend at the studio and the support provided to them during that time. Artists receive 60% of the proceeds from the sale or license of their work. This setup required negotiation and understanding with the government due to its innovative nature. Arts Project Australia also receives grants and sponsorships, and is working to implement a donor program.

Of course, the highlight for me was seeing the artists at work. Many of them were intrigued that I was from America. I was told I looked like a “supermodel”, asked about the death penalty, discussed Elvis and Graceland, and requests were made to accompany me back to the U.S. I must admit that it made me miss the people who make my life special every day at home.

View more photos from the day and stay up-to-date with all our latest at our Facebook page:www.facebook.com/gse2014.

Disability, Indigenous Art, and Profound Need

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 – 8:30 p.m. Melbourne time

By Teressa Jackson

Today was my first official Vocational Day. In the morning, I met with Brenda Lacey of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations. Brenda has been with AFDO since 2004 and explained that their organization is the peak organization representing consumers with all types of disabilities. Their members are all organizations run by and for people with disabilities. An organization cannot be a member unless a majority of their Board Members have a disability, and AFDO itself is run by a Board and staff comprised entirely of people with disabilities.

Funding for disability services went through a change in Australia last July. Currently, this new model, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), has taken effect in only three regions of Australia. It enables consumers to direct and negotiate their service package and how it is used. Brenda had as many questions for me as I had for her, and I shared the setup of Rauch and our programming, and discussed the ways in which our consumers are given choice as well as our challenges. I really enjoyed meeting her and learning about their work.

Indigenous Art at Ian Potter Gallery

After a short break in the graffiti-filled Hosier Lane, visit to see indigenous art at the Ian Potter Gallery, and lunch, I spent the remainder of the afternoon with Jeff Percy of Olympic AdultEducation. Olympic is located in a high-poverty area of West Heidelberg, which was once the site of the 1956 Olympic Village. When the Olympics were over, the facilities were converted to public housing and thus a high concentration of need formed there. Their offices are located in a collaborative space with medical, legal, and other service providers.

Olympic provides a variety of training for individuals in the West Heidelberg area, including basic literacy, English as a Second Language, math, driver’s education, computers, and other interests. They offer some courses for students with mild intellectual disability to improve their work-related skills. I was interested to learn that their Board of Directors is referred to as a “Committee of Management” (I’m really enjoying all the different terminology in Australia). They are primarily funded by state and federal government, and also receive funds from local government.

Jeff toured me around the neighborhood to give me a feel for the culture and resources offered to its residents, and then took me to a Community Kitchen where volunteers were preparing meals for people in need. The food smelled wonderful and the volunteers were friendly and welcoming. They explained that they take the meal to a site to distribute, and in addition they provide families with bags of various staples that I helped to assemble while I was there. I enjoyed speaking with the people there and they were interested to learn about me as well. I also met Brother Harry of the Exodus Community who ministers to the poor there. It turns out that Brother Harry was actually a GSE Team Member in the 1970s in Nebraska and South Dakota. He gave me a lovely book about the people they serve, and when I have a big box of tissues handy I will sit down and read it. It will be a wonderful remembrance of our trip.

View more photos from the day and stay up-to-date with all our latest at our Facebook page:www.facebook.com/gse2014.