A local project aimed at connecting the young and old in the community has been flagged for the Future of Ageing Awards.
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Nominated for the community engagement category is the intergenerational program hosted at Southern Cross Care Deniliquin, otherwise known as Orana.
Orana partners with Deniliquin High School and River Region Early Education (formerly Deniliquin Children’s Centre) for the project.
Deni High Year 10 child studies students develop the program, and then aid in connecting preschoolers and aged care residents through the activities they devise.
It has also been found to have enhanced awareness of health as an industry, and resulted in an increased number of student graduates following health and childcare as a career to meet community needs into the future.
Orana regional manager Amanda Cleary Schofield said the program has been running for a few years, and will return in Term 4 this year.
“We promote wellbeing and connectedness and recognise the natural flow that comes with intergenerational relationships,” she said.
“We all have things to teach each other, and we look forward to other providers learning from our experience and adopting this model.
“We are thrilled and honoured to be recognised on a national level.
“It goes to show that our small but vibrant communities can lead the way in the provision of aged care.”
The Future in Ageing Awards were launched in 2019 to recognise collaboration, leadership and innovation nationwide in Australia’s aged care industry.
Short-listed finalists will be recognised at the inaugural Future of Ageing Awards evening following a conference on August 29, 2024, in Darling Harbour, Sydney.
The intergenerational program is already the recipient of one award, having won in the 2023 Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network Awards’ innovation category.
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