Contemplating How to Build Strong Partnerships in the Community; Caddies and the James Homes Services organised the James Family Fun Day at Jimboomba Park

A few months ago two people representing the James Family Home Services came to my office. Their intention was to organise a Family Fun Day for the community and at the same time fundraise for our Community Care organisation. 

As a community organisation we would reap the benefits of this collaboration and together we could involve many members of our community in compassionate voluntary action in helping others.  This collaboration proved to be a real boost for building lasting relationships between local businesses and the Caddies Community Care Centre in Jimboomba. 

Organising the Fun Day itself was a huge challenge and the first attempt was cancelled due to weather. However, everyone was determined and the second planned day was a success.

Analysing the community partnership model

After taking part on many workshops on partnership building, attending relevant interagency meetings, local groups, committees and associations that enhance partnership building between the business community and the local nonprofit community organisations, I am left to thinking on what kind of community partnerships would be ideal in creating such a compassionate atmosphere that it would lead to businesses becoming active in voluntary engagement in the local community? 

My experience is that when I am attending meetings that bring together local businesses, such as The Chamber of Commerce or other associations enhancing business networking, everyone will mention their desire to be involved in the community.  The consensus is there. Everyone is interested and basically ready to get involved. How then can this desire be transformed into real action and support?

The Ideal components of local community action initiative

The first component is the human potential. Ideally the business owner is engaged in community participation. I find many women and men who have built a small business very willing to give back to the community in some easy and convenient way.

The second component is convenience. Community engagement must be inbuilt into the business structure. If a business owner is overworked and just involved in making ends meet, who has time for community involvement?  It is a fact that strategic involvement in the community brings in more business.  How, then, can we find a convenient form of partnering for the local community organisation and the local small businesses?

The third component is access to an agreeable community organisation as a partnering platform. This falls on the community organisations willingness to be accessible and involved in the local community social capacity building. Very often it is the struggle to grow and maintain the high quality service standards that prove to be the biggest challenge. Building partnerships with local businesses just is not in the agenda.

What about the image building

Ideally a local community organisation that is accessible to everyone and involved in helping those who are vulnerable in the community will attest to the values of humanity, impartiality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. This means the drive and willingness to include everybody in the community. It also means providing access to everybody without prejudice on the avenue. 

Still being involved with a particular business brand might be considered problematic. On the other hand, it is a normal practice of most of the large charities to partner with big companies to get more fundraising advantages. Just Google on the internet! Local community organisations can partner as well. The question is who would be an ideal partner?

The experience of partnering between JCCA and the James Family Services

In my experience JCCA’s collaboration with the members of the James Home Services proved to be an ideal partnering opportunity. As a nonprofit community care organisation we provide direct services to vulnerable people in the community. We provide aged care, youth and family support and emergency relief to those in need in our community. We also provide food services; food pantry and meals-on-wheels. 

James Home Services similarly provides direct services to clients in their homes, cleaning, lawn mowing and pet grooming. The small family franchises work their business in the community. While our aim is to involve everyone in voluntary service in helping others, they know everyone that could help.

Due to this our collaboration in organising the James Family Fun Day at Jimboomba Park was a success. The active, involved and compassionate people of the James Home Services were able to mobilise their group and other businesses in the day and at the same time fundraise for Caddies. We were able to use our organisational expertise in helping to organise the event, acquire licences and participation.

All in all this proved to be a wonderful start to successful partnering! I am looking forward to more in the future.

Introducing Jimboomba Park Retro Exercise Trail from the 80’s

An exercise trail in Jimboomba Park demonstrates that public health has been in focus for quite a long time with the community capacity builders.

Previously in a few of my blog postings I have introduced the concept of Senior Park and LifeTrail for community sports and recreation enthusiasts. At the same time, I have been pondering what is it that seems to stop me from actively implementing my awareness that regular exercise is crucial to my wellbeing and actually take it up as part of my daily activities. Also, I have been investigating what kind of play/exercise areas we need to develop to enhance public health for all ages through our community care organisation.


I can say that I am seriously interested in my own and other people’s wellbeing. I can be relatively easily persuaded to group activities and anything energetic that would relate to my work as confirmed by my interest in travelling around and investigating what is available. Yet, somewhere there is a wide gap between this interest and actually doing it. I would like to help everyone, including myself to close this bridge. I feel that I now have to start from the nearest and easiest park available to me at
work.


Jimboomba Park is situated right next to the Caddies Community Care Centre, where I work. I drive past it every day and sometimes I have taken part in some events, like The Vibe or other youth events organised by my own staff. I know there is a walking group organised by us that uses the park early mornings. Our Community Service Delivery Coordinator is doing everything she can to get people enthusiastic about healthy lifestyle, food and activities. There is a scooter and skateboard track there, which is often full of young enthusiasts. On a weekday I very seldom see any other people in the park or the playgrounds. So, I decided to go there on a Saturday instead.


The concreted retro trail is approximately 120m long. There is an exercise station at every 20 meters. I couldn’t really call them equipments in a modern sense, except maybe for the monkey bars. Rather, they are small items placed on soft surface to help those who complete the trail to do a particular exercise, like hopping over a log or walking a plank for balance. There is even a two train monorail that was a popular feature in the 90’s parks. Unlike modern outside exercise equipments these items are not designed to actively aid with the exercise itself. Rather they are there to provide a platform for a movement or action. However, similarly to modern trails, a good trainer or physiotherapist can do a lot in guiding people to do a right exercise with the help of a particular station to enhance and keep their physical abilities in good shape longer. The difference is that the new equipment and playgrounds are designed to enthusiastically help to attain results. It is a further developed concept from what is provided here that applies the modern efficiency approach to sports and recreation standards. The new playground equipment comes complete with the research results about how efficient they are in aiding the exerciser’s goals.


Yet, I had a very good half an hour walking down the trail and trying all the stations and so did the few families, I did encounter. I am quite convinced, though that with some deep analysis of what is needed and suitable for particularly set aims, we will be able to develop a suitable activity area for both young and old to have professionally guided activity groups that really enhance our physical wellbeing.

Having a great day at the Caddies Community Care Centre in Jimboomba

Demonstrating success towards attaining results in community capacity building

How would a great working day be defined? Is there a standard criterion? What would it take to say that a particular day in a working life has been great, wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable? Well, we had a day last week at Caddies in Jimboomba where I work, which in my mind can qualify as a grand day. Lucky for me, on that day we had a pleasure to be visited by Councillor Hajnal Black from the Logan City Council and I was equipped with a camera. As the day went on and the pictures piled up, its particular meaning suddenly became quite clear to me.

Is there a criterion for a great day at work?

For me a criterion is set by what kind of outcomes I would like to achieve from a successful day’s work. I have been pondering what makes a great day at work for other people. In my mind I would deem it a wonderful day if I can actually see a positive influence my work experience and commitment has on people and service outcomes. It would make the work worthwhile and would colour the day great.

As the Director for the organisation, I set my goals in relation to the mission, vision and the philosophy of the organisation. In this case the Jimboomba Community Care Association Inc which exists to enhance the wellbeing and social capital of our community. The Community Care Centre from where we operate is the centre of our activities in the area. From there we demonstrate our presence, our values and our commitment to the wellbeing of the community surrounding us. According to the 2006 census some 41000 people are anchored through our service provision to the community in the Logan and Beaudesert area. It is a huge challenge.

The organisational plan is set to encompass all our services: Caddies Care Services, Caddies Food Services, Caddies Community Welfare, Caddies Family and Youth Support Services, both funded and unfunded, and all the Caddies Community Care Centre activities. On the care service front our aim is to achieve an all-inclusive best practice, high quality service delivery and on the centre activities front a genuine presence in the community as a place to participate, meet and interact. My role is to lead the organisation to greater achievements and balanced service delivery for all in our community. Positive outcomes in an organisation can only be achieved by a great team effort, a committed Management Committee, staff and volunteer participation. First of all it requires attitude! Luckily, we have the IT factor. I can only commend the staff, volunteers and all involved in their commitment to the organisational outcomes.

Personally for me a great day is when I come home in the evening inspired, happy, full of future plans and ready for more. I might even take up some vacuum cleaning and cooking without any bother. Achieving organisational and personal goals, just for one day, calls for a celebration. My feeling is that we have now set the standard and can aim at repeating it again and again in rabid succession.


What did this remarkable day involve?

First and foremost the day was full of activities at Caddies Community Care Centre. The place was busting with children, parents, grandparents, volunteers and other visitors. The JCCA staff was at their most efficient and the facilities were in full use. Every function room, including the courtyard was occupied. The Food Pantry was busy, too. As the day happened to be the National Meals-on-Wheels Day, MOW staff and volunteers were celebrating. Now we know what we can achieve.

We greatly appreciate Councillor Black’s visit to the Caddies Community Care Centre. Through the day we got to demonstrate that well planed and defined cooperation with local council and community results in more community participation by the members of the said community. The pictures clearly show how much fun we had on the day and how good it turned out to be.


Parent/grandparents support group and the Chatterbox.


New Mothers group and Parents and Bubs Fun.


Caddies Meals-on-Wheels volunteers in training and at lunch.