* 6 June 2023 *

Disappointed but Determined

Despite our endeavours to encourage the Federal Government to fund the first three years’ operation costs for The V Centre Veteran Empowerment Program, we were not successful in our pre-budget submission.

While this is disappointing, we are pleased to have received a Veteran Wellbeing grant of $150,000 to assist with the fit-out of The V Centre (as you may have read above). The renovation is now under way and we expect it to be complete by mid-spring.

We were also delighted to be contacted by Mildura RSL Sub-Branch who wanted to lend their support to The V Centre. We sincerely thank their committee for their decision to make a very generous donation of $100,000 to furnish one entire wing of The V Centre which will be named in their honour.

This support is testament to the ex-service community belief in The V Centre.

We are determined to find the funding to make it a reality and to give a home and hope to desperate and homeless veterans.

Centenarian Chronicles

A celebration is planned for next month at our Frankston South aged care home, where we have a remarkable group of ten residents who have surpassed the century mark.

Our oldest resident has proudly reached 104 years of age – born in 1919, just a year after the end of World War I. What an incredible life span.

We have a further eight residents in their 100th year and well on their way to joining this prestigious group.

Saluting Excellence Awards 2023

The annual Saluting Excellence Awards will be opening for nominations on 1 July. I draw your attention to this, because a nomination from a resident, their family, from home care clients or ex-service accommodation residents means a great deal to our staff.

Please look out for details in the next few weeks.

Digital Transformation

Effective systems are essential to an efficient, compliant and well-run organisation and since January, we have been rolling out a digital transformation program to update and upgrade systems where needed, remove any remaining paper-based systems, eliminating the possibility of transcribing errors and reducing duplication of data. This is a significant project and our IT team is being kept very busy.

Staff will be required to get used to the new systems and while some will find it easy, others may find it challenging.

Ultimately, the benefits will greatly outweigh any challenges, setting us up with robust systems to support and enable our long-term strategic goals.

While the changeover is taking place, we ask for your patience if you are experiencing delays and to contact our staff if you are experiencing issues.

Extending Our Ex-Service Accommodation

The new development on Bell Street – Samma Place – is approaching completion. We are in regular contact with Ivanhoe ex-service accom-modation residents who will be moving into their brand new apartments around July/August. We will have ten additional homes which will be offered to those on our waiting list who are in greatest need.

We are also excited to report that our plans for a 20 ex-service-unit new build, adjacent to our aged care home in Bundoora, are progressing well and we hope to bring more news on that next quarter.

Janna Voloshin,
Chief Executive Officer