Archive

St Patrick’s Celebration Charity Fundraiser

Published
by
karuna
on January 24, 2008
in Events
. 1 Comment

The local branch of the Knights of the Southern Cross will again sponsor this fundraiser at Gaythorne RSL on Saturday 15 March - 6pm for 6.30pm.

For the cost of $35, patrons will receive a 3 course meal of soup, Guinness pie & vegetables, apple strudel & cream together with tea & coffee. There will be entertainment & a singalong as well as an opportunity to win great raffle prizes. A cash bar will be available.

Tickets available from Nev Wells on 3357 7386 or Frank Curran on 3355 7876. All tickets will be pre-sold prior to 1 March. There will be no door sales.

Come along & celebrate St. Patrick’s Day while helping a most worthwhile cause (all net proceeds will go to Karuna). You are assured of a great night.

We would love as many people as possible to attend. We are also looking for volunteers. Please contact Sally on 3632 8317 if you are available to help on the night from 6.00pm to approx 11.00pm.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Published
by
karuna
on December 14, 2007
in Community
. 1 Comment

The Mandala room looked beautiful with table centrepieces, wreaths and mantelpiece swags and exquisite hand made decorations adorning the tree and clustered in baskets waiting to be bought.

Once again Karuna Christmas market proved to be a very successful event for Karuna, and the visitors and volunteers enjoyed the opportunity to spend time in the gracious building and grounds and shop for wonderful hand made Christmas crafts and delicious festive foods.

On Friday shoppers enjoyed Christmas cake and wine under the Jacaranda tree and on Saturday visitors met up with friends as they ate delicious Devonshire teas at tables on the lawn in delightfully cool Brisbane weather.

Our heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers who helped but particularly to the Christmas craft ladies without whom none of this would happen…

May everyone and their loved ones have a joyful Christmas and many blessings for the New Year.

Karuna Xmas Markets at Dusk
The Karuna Christmas Market at dusk

A Christmas Appeal from Deborah Jones

Published
by
karuna
on December 13, 2007
in Community
. 2 Comments

Download the Karuna Xmas Appeal pdf

Tony and I met when we were both very young. We were childhood sweethearts and had known each other a long time before building a life together with our three children. But sadly we lost Tony two years ago, after a short battle with cancer.

When he was diagnosed, the doctors gave Tony only a year to live, but we were blessed with more than 18 months together. During all the treatments and surgeries, he came out of it so positively and was always so strong. I have heard similar stories from friends I have made through Karuna. They all say how strong their partner or husband or wife was and how they carried everyone else through the illness with their positive attitude.

But about 17 months down the track, we decided not to continue treatment. The doctors had told us that they needed to control the growth of the tumor. This meant having surgery every four months. We knew this would be more than Tony could cope with. This was an agonizing decision for us because we knew that he would not survive without further surgery. It was at this point that we agreed to sell our business. That was another hard decision because once Tony let go of the business, he knew he would have to let go of us and that would be it.

Tony always said he didn’t fear death, but he felt very concerned about how I would cope and how that would affect the children. So I knew it was my turn to be strong. When he was discharged from the hospital we were told we would need more support and that is when our relationship with Karuna began.

Continue reading ‘A Christmas Appeal from Deborah Jones’

Cocktails a Huge Hit for Karuna

Published
by
karuna
on December 10, 2007
in Community
. 0 Comments

The view from the pool was our very own Manhattan!! Even the weather was perfect after looking like rain all afternoon, and even sprinkling prior to the 6.30 commencement.

“Cocktails at Gumerache” has been our most successful cocktail party so far.

Our heartfelt thanks go to Susan Davies and Christine Dittmer who have organised all the Karuna cocktail parties in the outdoor areas of beautiful Brisbane homes. Sadly, Susan and Christine are making this their last cocktail party and taking a well earned rest.

We most gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the following:

  • Tricia and Darrell Butcher - venue
  • Pane e Vino (D’Arienzo family) - food catering and wait staff
  • Castlemaine Perkins - beverages
  • Marie-Louise Theile - compere for the evening
  • de pasquale - design
  • Platypus Graphics - printing
  • First response - security

Donors of the experiential auction prizes:

  • High-flying wine experience - a private helicopter flight to Maleny for a VIP wine experience at Maleny Manor incl. wine tasting, lunch and fine wines from Settlers Rise Winery
  • Four days in Paradise - a four-day luxury stay on Moreton Island in a private Cowan beach house with transfers by barge or ferry and a Black Pearl Epicure hamper for a gourmet beach picnic
  • “Luxury in the Rainforest” experience at Bloomfield Lodge for three nights for (2) incl air transfers from Cairns.
  • Gold Coast hinterland weekend of spa, health, gourmet food and wellbeing at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat. With stunning ocean and valley views for (2) people
  • Celebrity Golf with a Pirelli “retyrement” experience. Golf game for (2) joining Pat Rafter and Alfie Langer at Indooroopilly Golf Club, followed by lunch and return of your newly-shod vehicle (with calendar) courtesy of Bob Jane T-Mart, Enoggera.

Raffle prize donors: Gambaro’s Seafood Restaurant, River Canteen restaurant, Darryl & Lewis hairdressing, Cosi Dolci, Baguette Restaurant.

cocktails.jpg

The Karuna Christmas Raffle

Published
by
karuna
on November 29, 2007
in Community
. 0 Comments

The raffle has been drawn. Thank you to everyone for your support

This year Karuna is raising money by holding a special Christmas Raffle to be drawn on the 8th of December, 3pm at Karuna’s Christmas Market and all proceeds will go towards supporting Karuna’s important work in the community.

Tickets are $2 each or three for $5 and are available from Karuna House or call 07 3632 8300 and request a book of tickets to sell.

1st Prize - Mountain Bike
This great 20 inch, 18 speed ‘Cheetah’ Mountain Bike should make someone very happy on Christmas morning!

2nd Prize - Huge Christmas Hamper
Containing a full array of delectable treats to fill your table for Christmas day (including 3 bottles of wine).

3rd Prize - Medium Christmas Hamper
With lots of lovely goodies to make for a very yummy Christmas!

4th Prize - Christmas Tree Skirt
This exquisitely handmade tree skirt will liven the base of any Christmas tree.

5th Prize - Christmas Hamper
What would Christmas be without a great big cuddly teddy bear?

raffle.jpg

First Introduction to Buddhism Weekend for 2008

Published
by
karuna
on November 22, 2007
in Courses
. 0 Comments

Our previous Introduction to Buddhism weekend courses have met with a great deal of success with much praise from all those who have attended. It is a pleasure to announce these new dates for Karuna’s strongly experiential weekend involving discussion and meditation in an open and relaxed environment.

Please download the Introduction to Buddhism flyer for more details.

The Karuna 2007 Annual Report

Published
by
karuna
on November 5, 2007
in Downloads
. 0 Comments

Download the full Karuna 2007 Annual Report in pdf format.

We are very proud to present this year’s annual report. 2007 has been a special year for all those involved with Karuna Hospice Services. Below is an extract, or you can download the full document above.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
2006/07 marks the tenth and final year that I will serve on Karuna’s Board of Management. I will also be retiring from the position of Chairman, which I have had the privilege of holding for the past eight years. Over the years, I have witnessed Karuna mature from a relatively small organisation into one that is continually growing in relevance and reputation in the community.

Karuna continues to respond to an ever increasing demand for its services and this is reflected in the progress made during the year in review. I am pleased to report that 2006/ 07 was one of the most successful in Karuna’s 15 year of operations.

HOME CARE PROGRAM
During 2006/07, Karuna cared for 344 families. With support from the community we were able to build our nursing team to 7.7 (FTE) and as a result we were able to increase the number of families we cared for each month to 56. Increasing the nursing pool also meant we were able to reach a milestone and extend our geographical boundaries to the south side of Brisbane.

COUNSELLING AND SPIRITUAL CARE PROGRAM
Over the past year, Karuna’s team of counsellors and spiritual carers provided support to 480 families experiencing a recent bereavement, 138 clients and their families living with a life limiting illness and 124 people with other issues relating to end of life.

WORKPLACE TRAINING AND EDUCATION
As part of our commitment to supporting the development of the palliative care workforce for the future, Karuna continued to offer education and training opportunities for students, nurses, counsellors and General Practitioners. In 2006/07 Karuna offered 10 student nursing placements and 4 clinical placements for qualified health professionals. In addition, Karuna developed a comprehensive specialist palliative care training program for registered nurses in collaboration with the Centre for Palliative Care Research and Education (CPCRE) and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

LIFE EDUCATION
The demand for Karuna’s unique Life Education courses continued to grow during the year. In response to this demand Karuna offered ten courses, attracting over 150 participants to the program. The most popular courses are Introduction to Buddhism, Open Heart Peaceful Mind and What Happens When We Die.

4th Annual Karuna Christmas Market

Published
by
josh
on October 15, 2007
in Events
. 6 Comments

Download the Karuna Christmas Market 2007 flyer

The festive season is fast approaching and Karuna’s creative and dedicated team of craft volunteers have been preparing since autumn for the annual Christmas Market in early December.

A sumptuous array of hand-made Christmas treats, decorations, festive food and gifts will be available to decorate and enhance your Christmas celebrations… and best of all your purchases will help to support the work of Karuna, your favourite Brisbane charity.

So mark these dates in your diaries now!!

xmasflyer.png

Karuna’s June 2007 Appeal Letter

Published
by
karuna
on October 1, 2007
in Downloads
. 1 Comment

Download the Karuna June 2007 Appeal in pdf format

Our story actually began a long time ago,but I will start on May 10th 2002, the day Philip and I moved into What If Farm.

We called it What If Farm after my propensity to start every sentence with ‘what if?’ What if we put up fences? We could have lots of animals.What if we built a barn? What if we went organic and grew our own vegetables? What if? What if? What if?

It became our mantra and What If Farm became the realisation of our dream. On September 21st 2002, Philip and I were married on the deck that he built (What if we built a deck? We could get married there).

This was a very happy time in our lives but two months later all that changed when Philip was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.

Philip’s determination to ‘beat this thing’ was incredible.We applied our “What if?” mantra and we tried everything we could lay our hands on.

Throughout these first few years I heard of Karuna many times. Friends talked of the amazing support they had received from Karuna, our dear friend Maria, shared her strong association with Karuna with us. Karuna kept coming into our conversations and our consciousness.

Philip continued to work, we kept looking for answers, we kept hoping. Hope became the lifeline we sent out. But in December 2005 one of his tumors compressed his spinal cord. Paralysed from the chest down, Philip lay in the emergency ward of the Royal Brisbane Hospital. Emergency spinal surgery was scheduled. At 3.00 am the hospital staff suggested we say goodbye, his chances of surviving the operation was slim, the possibility that he would ever walk again was even slimmer. Philip survived and walked out of hospital 7 days later, but our world changed at that moment.

Joan Wilson Jones

Continue reading ‘Karuna’s June 2007 Appeal Letter’

Art Market A Record Success

Published
by
karuna
on September 24, 2007
in Community
. 1 Comment

Saturday 15 September saw our 4th Annual Pre Loved Art and Jewellery Market open to the community at 8am in bright sunshine. Donations of high quality art and jewellery from our Karuna community flooded in and bargains for all were eagerly snapped up. Our treasure at the Silent Auction stand this year was a Pro Hart original!

Cappuccino and cake kept shopping energy high and our tireless volunteers ensured customers were happily supplied with plently of art and jewellery to carry home.

Sincere thanks to 6RAR Enoggera, Stafford and Windsor Rotary clubs along with our Art and Jewellery committees and all our Karuna staff and volunteers for our best market so far.

Art Market 2007