Posted Friday, 28 May
Local community chips in for library
Residents at Tall Trees Tanah Merah’s supported living neighbourhood now have access to their own, fully stocked library, thanks to the support of the local community.
Three residents with the assistance of a local volunteer, have been organising boxes of donated books into categories and genres to create a personalised, private library that the residents can enjoy.
Carrie Fortunaso, neighbourhood manager at Tall Trees Tanah Merah, says that support for the initiative has been overwhelmingly positive with the donation of many books.
“There’s already about a thousand books that some of the residents have organised into order, but there’s still so many more that we haven’t counted yet – we actually have several boxes that are waiting to be sorted.
“We didn’t do a push for the donations or ask for them, people in the community just started calling up and asking if we wanted books.
“And of course, residents often bring many of their old books when they move in, so that’s also helped to add to the collection.”
Maureen O’Brien, Val Gilroy and Joan Purcell – three residents at Tall Trees Tanah Merah – have been working tirelessly to turn boxes of unordered books into a fully functioning, navigable library, complete with web-ready computers.
Janet Poole, a program coordinator from Logan Libraries, and her assistant Rani McLennan, have generously volunteered their expertise to help the ladies arrange everything into order.
Ms Fortunaso says that community involvement forms a major part of the Tall Trees philosophy, and is an indication of the way that they plan on moving forward.
“We’re placing really heavy emphasis on engaging with the local area, as we want to remove the stigma that’s commonly associated with aged care,” she says.
“As well as this, there’s plenty that the community can learn from our residents, and vice versa.
“We’ve been incredibly thankful for the way that everyone’s helped us out by donating books, and the way Janet has put up her hand to help our residents is hugely appreciated.
“This is just one of the first steps that we’re going to be taking to further engage the local neighbourhood – growing old is about integration, not segregation.”
To donate books, please contact Carrie Fortunaso on (07) 3442 9200.
