Arbor Village, located in the leafy suburb of Bedfordview, has a very strong philanthropic culture, with many of the Village residents involved in numerous charitable initiatives.
Meet five remarkable ladies, Grace Smith, Janet Brodrick, Joyce Hendriksen, Lynette Santos and Marianne Coull. They are all residents at Methodist Homes’ Arbor Village but they are united by so much more than simply being neighbours; they have a common desire to help communities and people in need.
From knitting circle Fridays and sandwich-making Mondays to a biscuit run, these women change lives and give true meaning to ‘making a difference. The ladies all agree that it extremely rewarding to be involved in the different community projects. “There is a mutual benefit here; by helping those in need enables us to make a positive contribution and this is truly empowering. Some of our initiatives have been going on for many years while others like the knitting circle, was inspired by the level 5 lockdown in March 2020.”
Grace, who spearheads the knitting circle, explains: “Respecting all the Covid-19 protocols meant that we could no longer participate in the wonderful activities at Arbor Village so we had to find a way to keep ourselves busy. The Women’s Ministry at Bedfordview Methodist Church donated some wool which inspired us to hand this out to any Village residents who expressed an interest in knitting items for the needy. What a joy it was to regularly find beautiful knitwear on my doorstep, from blankets and bed socks to beanies, scarves and shawls.”
“Knitting was our lifeline during the strict lockdown period!” continues Grace. “With the slight easing of Covid restrictions, we are now able to meet every Friday morning, of course wearing face masks, sanitising and keeping social distancing rules. Our knitting circle provides a wonderful time of social interaction between the residents where new friendships are forged over a cup of tea. Our current 25-member strong knitting circle keeps on growing; when other residents see what we are doing they want to be a part of it. Everyone here just wants to get involved!”
Some of the completed knitwear is given to the church for distribution to the Khanisani initiative which helps people living on the mine dumps. “We also support Bethany Home for abused women and children, a school situated near Bethany, children at Bertrams as well as the Victoria Yard baby clinic,” says Marianne. “Some of our residents knit jerseys, beanies, scarves and little teddies that I package into children’s hampers for handing out at Victoria Yard clinic. Doctor Marelize Kaminsky and the rest of the medical team at the clinic are really wonderful in helping to distribute the hampers to the moms and children.”
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