54: Forget me not
Chorus Voices
Bill, 78, is a retired teacher of 36 years and now volunteers with Chorus. He teaches English as a Second Language at the Chorus Bull Creek Activity Centre.
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53: Getting our art on
Chorus Voices
We talk about all things art and community coming out of the Ability Arts inclusive art program in Mandurah, WA - from winning a sculpture award to the Selfie Portrait Exhibition and more!
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52: Christmas Voices 2020
Chorus Voices
In this year’s Christmas Voices Angela Johns, Mandy Waters and Judith Hatton join Dan Minchin and Louise Forster to dive into inspiring journeys of survival and recovery in 2020.
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51: Growing communities one garden at a time
Chorus Voices
What's it like to be a Chorus gardener? Pretty special actually.
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50: 50 years in the community
Chorus Voices
Episode 50 of Chorus Voices celebrates 50 years of Chorus in the community and, as it turns out, it’s our 50th episode!
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49: Teamwork: A circle of kindness
Chorus Voices
Chorus is a team of kind, caring people. In this episode Dan Minchin and Nikki Drury explore the relationship between teamwork and kindness.
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48: Home is more than a house
Chorus Voices
Krystyna likes to cook, garden and have fun with her housemate, Quack Quack 2. In this episode we learn about the journey and joy of supported independent living.
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47: A very merry unbirthday: Two more candles
Chorus Voices
In part two of Lex’s mental health journey we learn a thing or two about designing clothes for musicals as Lex takes the next step towards realising the dream of becoming a fashion designer.
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46: Men's Health Week: From darkness to colour
Chorus Voices
After an accident, professional cyclist Chek stopped eating and wanted to give up on life. One day he reached out and turned his life around.
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45: Chorus volunteers: A smile to deliver
Chorus Voices
During National Volunteer Week 2020 five Chorus volunteers take centre stage and talk about what volunteering means to them and the Chorus community. “The only thing that I can do is just give them a bit of time,” says Gary.
info_outlineEpisode 50 of Chorus Voices celebrates 50 years of Chorus in the community and, as it turns out, it’s our 50th episode!
“Our longest ancestor train traces our lineage back to 1970 when Volunteer Task Force was founded by John and Sandra Penrose," says Dan Minchin.
Volunteer Task Force and then Chorus volunteers Jim and Wanda Bennett contributed an extraordinary 18 years to their community. They met Jeannette Olsen in their first year and the three have remained close friends.
One day Wanda sat with a customer instead of doing her gardening. The customer’s husband had just died. “It wasn't just about the gardening. It was interacting with the people,” says Wanda.
Jim recalls an emotional moment when a man in his 90s asked for help for the first time.
There was much food to be shared on a day out gardening, and it was fun, too. Jeannette remembers Wanda unloading a lawnmower one day. “I turned around to look for her lawnmower and it was racing down the hill.”
Ina Hart has been with the Albany Senior Citizens Centre and then Chorus for about the same amount of time. She works in the office at the centre and started off cooking for the Meals on Wheels service there.
“It was really hectic because I had to learn how to cook bulk amounts of food. And I'd never done that before. And somebody had said to me, 'Oh, come on, Ina. Your mum and dad had 16 children. You should know how to cook for lots of people,'” she says.
Narelle Roberts started as a Support Worker for Community First, now Chorus in 2009, supporting people living with disability. She is also a customer and enjoys taking part in the Ability Arts program.
“It was just pure heaven that I got to know how to look after myself and then take better care of myself from being here at Chorus and Community First,” says Narelle.
“There's just a never-ending array of those sorts of stories that pop out of the work of Chorus,” says Dan.
“And I guess that also is reflective of the sort of rich tapestry that Chorus is; it's made up of these multiple parts, groups, organisations that over the 50 years have come together.”
Credits
Podcast Hosts: Dan Minchin and Louise Forster
Opening Voiceover: Ryan Burke
Opening Music: “Wattlebird” by Dylan Hatton Music
Interviewees:
Jim Bennett
Wanda Bennet
Jeannette Olsen
Ina Hart
Narelle Roberts
Producer/Interviewer: Judith Hatton
Audio Editing: Matthew Clark
Artwork/video: Maddie Bull