On Wednesday March 10th, 2021 AVENS said good-bye to our trusted steed, as for many years, it transported many of our residents and staff to cultural events, medical appointments, shopping sprees, banking institutions, hospitality events and to various backcountry locations.
“Sometimes you can’t pay it back, so you just have to pay it forward” - Randy Pausch
Saddened, as many of our staff and residents were to see our beloved bus drive off the property, we were happy knowing two things: One, that our new Care on Wheels program has been a great addition to our program offering.
Two, we now know our old bus will part of a
unique pay-it-forward program for another community in the NWT.
We are thankful for the partnership of the NWT Council of Disabilities, Yk Motors and All West Glass, who came together to get our old bus in prime retrofit shape to make the pilgrimage to the Zhahti Koe Friendship Centre in Fort Providence.
AVENS is very proud to have donated our old bus for this unique Care on Wheels Pay-it-Forward program.
We want to once again, thank all our donors and supporters we received last fall for our Operation
Care on Wheels campaign. It is this through this generosity AVENS felt it was important for us to help another community by paying it forward.
NWT Recreation and Parks Association is one of AVENS partners that recently held a two-day training session in our facility.
NWTRPA mission is to promote recreation by supporting leaders, communities, and partners through training, advocacy, and networking.
“Elders in Motion is a training and mentorship program that improves the access and quality of recreation programs for older adults. Community leaders enhance their knowledge, skills, and confidence in organizing and leading safe, engaging, and culturally appropriate recreation programs for older adults. These programs promote wellness of body, mind and spirit, interdependence, and functional mobility.”
Many of our Care Team staff members were on hand for this two-day, 12-hour course. Some of the topics covered were:
We were even fortunate enough to have some “volunteer seniors” from Avens Manor join in on the fun!
Thanks again to the NWTRPA and their dedicated staff for keeping our own staff informed and for promoting fitness for life!
Employee engagement surveys are designed to help AVENS Management measure and assess how motivated and engaged you are!
When AVENS Management have enough data, we can gain an insight into employees thoughts and attitudes towards their work and overall environment.
We want to know your emotional commitment? What drives you? What do you care about most?
When you participate, it gives AVENS Management the tools needed to develop continuous improvement action plans and to help fix issues before they become big problems.
However, it takes your commitment and approximately 10 minutes of your time and we hope you will do your part.
We are once again using Survey Monkey which is a safe and secure platform. AVENS Management do not know who the respondents are, or from what email address they come from.
Once we get a healthy weighted sampling of respondents for review, we will aggregate the data and we will provide you with a full transparency of the results via our CTV program monitors.
HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY!
Of course, again, this whole process requires you to be an active participant, so please don’t sit on your hands. You have a voice when it comes to your happiness and well being, therefore, we encourage you to let your voice be heard.
Thanking you in advance for those who regularly participate in this annual employee engagement survey.
ALL RESPONSES ARE CONFIDENTIAL.
NOTHING IDENTIFIES THE EMPLOYEE!
Welcome to this week’s Special Edition, where you are the star!
We are taking this opportunity to reflect on last week’s incredible (Going the Extra Mile for Seniors) GEMS Awards Ceremony that took place on March 10th, 2021 in the Barb Bromley Administration Wing.
Twenty-three staff members were recognized for their service from five years to over 25 years.
This distinguished group of tenured employees, combined, have contributed over 240 years of Going the Extra Mile for our Seniors. An incredible milestone when you stop to think about it!
Of course, ten staff were also nominated for our second year of our GEMS Shining Star award and seven incredible volunteers were given the honour to be named with our GEMS Helping Hand award.
This ceremony is always humbling for me, especially when I see the faces of recipients approach the podium when I hand them their certificates and pins.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our AVENS Board, who truly was the inspiration behind these awards. It is through their support and guidance that our GEMS program emerged.
Specifically, I wish to thank AVENS Board Member and Chair of the Fundraising Committee, Bronwyn Watters, for being present to hand out the awards. Thanks also goes out to Sara Fullerton for capturing all the moments on camera, for Chelsea Pukanich who choreographed the event and allowed family and friends to chime in via our Zoom platform, for our receptionist, Christine Zamudio, for her design work and of course our Maintenance Team and our Food Services Team for all the preparation, clean up and infection control. To all these individuals, Teams and for those I have failed to identify, I want to personally say “thank you”.
Let’s use pictures to describe the grander of this event…
See you next year on the RED Carpet!
