Arbor Village in Bedfordview has a strong philanthropic culture, with many of the village residents involved in numerous charitable initiatives.
Meet five remarkable women: 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 women all agree that it is rewarding to be involved in the different community projects.
“There is a mutual benefit here. 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 were inspired by lockdown in March 2020.
“Respecting all the Covid-19 protocols meant 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,” said Grace, who spearheads the knitting circle.
“Knitting was our lifeline during the strict lockdown period,” she said.
“With the slight easing of Covid restrictions, we are now able to meet every Friday morning, of course, wearing 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 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 Yards Baby Clinic,” said Marianne.
“Some of our residents knit jerseys, beanies, scarves and little teddies that I package into children’s hampers for handing out at Victoria Yards. Doctor Marelize Kaminsky and the rest of the medical team at the clinic are really wonderful in helping to distribute the hampers to the mums and children.”
Joyce, who has been an Arbor Village resident for 24 years, said they will never forget the day when while handing out the hamper to a mum and her young child, the little one said with a bright smile, ‘I have never had a teddy bear’.
“This is what motivates us to just keep on doing what we do. This initiative is growing fast because as soon as the Arbor residents see the little teddies, they immediately want to get involved.”
The women agree that there is a wonderful team spirit at Arbor.
“We help each other out. Alongside welcome donations of wool from the church, Arbor’s Entertainment Committee assists the knitting circle with funding to buy wool. If the knitting circle has spare wool, they share it to create the children’s hampers and vice versa.
“This networking has enabled us to knit so many items. We have literally knitted hundreds of teddies.”
According to Janet, the sandwich-making initiative started about 10 years ago as part of a Bible study project.
“With donations from the church and our own pantries, we make sandwiches in our home kitchens every Monday that we then hand to the church for distribution to people living on the streets.”
Lockdown level five raised the spirit of giving among the Arbor Village ladies to new heights because in May 2020 they decided that what was needed was a ‘biscuit run’.
Understanding that the pandemic was creating an even bigger need out there, the support from Arbor Village residents was overwhelming and they initiated what was truly a community effort in every sense of the word.
Donations from the church as well as from the residents themselves were boosted by the Jewish community who donated kosher flour, as well as the Muslim community who donated sugar.
“We thought we would be done in two weeks but it just kept on going,” said Lynette.
Ninety dozen eggs and countless bags of flour and sugar later, there were car boot loads full of home-baked biscuits, which were distributed to informal settlements.
“It was a ‘mind-gym’ not only for us but also for the Arbor Village staff, as well as our security, as we all got involved.”
Lynette said as no visitors were permitted during the strict level five lockdown regulations, the biscuits were left with the security staff who then loaded the cars parked outside Arbor Village premises.
“This initiative was a salvation for many residents as it provided much-needed stimulation during lockdown, as well as a good feeling knowing that in some small way we are making a difference by helping those less fortunate.
“All these initiatives are proof of the generous and caring culture at Arbor Village,” said manager Denise Stanton.
“During my interviews with potential residents, I am always so proud to list our many activities and wonderful charity initiatives. By joining the knitting circle, for example, a new resident can quickly make new friends and become part of our great community spirit.”
These inspirational women at Arbor Village who symbolise all that Women’s Month in August stands for are always in need of items such as wool, knitting and crochet needles, bread, margarine, jam and more. They invite anyone who would like to be part of these initiatives to drop off donations at Arbor Village security on the corner of Smith and Bradford roads in Bedfordview.
