Children’s Garden Tax Time Appeal

OCAV is raising funds to create a children’s garden within the settings on our Liscombe House Aged Care facility.

At the moment, the only place for children to play when they visit Liscombe House is their grand- or great-grandparent’s room.

Although running the hallways is not uncommon! It’s warmly tolerated of course, but we would love to create somewhere special for children.

Children bring so much joy to residents, especially those residents who are unable to leave the village.

This tax time, we are reaching out to our supporter community for their help to turn a small courtyard area into a children’s garden with some plants and toys, and perhaps a sandpit and water play feature.

Rosie and Marie
Take Rosie, for example, she’s three and her favourite thing is making mud pies. Each week she visits her great-grandma Marie, who moved in with us last year. Rosie loves her great-grandma but she’s often shy and withdrawn during visits. I think she’s a bit daunted by Liscombe House - after all, it doesn’t look much like her great-grandma’s old home.

It’s certainly not like how it used to be when the two of them would potter in Marie’s garden, finding bugs (Rosie) and digging out the weeds (Marie).

If Rosie and Marie had a garden to play in again, imagine how joyful and enriching it could be for both of them. Any gift we receive before June 30 can be included in your tax-deductible donation on this year’s tax return.

Benefits of brining old and young together
Bringing younger and older generations together has so many benefits. Through grandparents, children have a better sense of who they are and where they have come from; they have roots, history and connection. Children also feel special. They receive the undivided attention that parents are often too busy to provide.

This kind of unconditional love is not easily found elsewhere. OCAV needs help now to foster the special connections between residents and their grandchildren.

An estimated 70 children like Rosie will benefit from the garden over the coming 12 months – and the sooner we get this happening, the sooner these kids and their grandparents can start spending quality time in the garden.

How your donation can help
Here’s a list of all the things your donation could help with:

• $25 for children’s gardening gloves and watering cans
• $50 for plants with fragrance and texture for children and people with dementia to enjoy
• $100 for a chalk board wall to keep little hands busy
• $300 for wood to construct a sandpit and some planter boxes
• $500 for an irrigation system that waters the plants and provides a water play feature for the little ones
• $1,000 for some sturdy outdoor furniture.
• And a particularly generous $5,000 for a shade sail, to keeping fragile skin safe from the sun

Ways to Donate
There are many ways to donate. You can use your credit card to make an online donation here, or you can send a cheque in the post to P.O. Box 214, Clifton Hill, Victoria, 3068. You can also call us to make a credit card donation over the phone by calling 03 9481 9300.

Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.