A productive September workerbee with Brookfield employees at Jannawi Family Centre has brightened up their new premises in The Flour Mill of Summer Hill.
Staff from Brookfield volunteered their time to Property Industry Foundation’s Charity Partner Jannawi Family Centre – a leading child protection service provider. Twelve team members helped set up and restore children’s furniture, as well as learning more about Jannawi’s advocacy for vulnerable children and their families. “Brookfield has been working with the Property Industry Foundation for over 20 years, and the workerbee is a favourite amongst our team,” says Communications Coordinator Emily Featherstone. “Our most recent worker bee with Jannawi allowed our people to help create a safe place for vulnerable children and families in our local community, while also serving as a great team-building activity.”
It was a busy but enriching day for everyone involved. “Team members from across our Brookfield and Brookfield Properties business attended and the team were keen to help the Foundation and Jannawi in any way possible,” says Emily. “The day started with an introduction session, with the rest of the day filled with setting up furniture, as well as cleaning, sanding, and painting children’s furniture for the centre. The results were a new suite of furniture that had either been assembled or refurbished in calming pastel colours. The team felt accomplished, and happy to have contributed and got to know some new faces at Brookfield. The general atmosphere was one of excitement, and happiness to be doing something with a positive impact.”
The atmosphere for the centre is now relaxed, calming and child centred. “We have a space that is bright, welcoming, child-friendly and has a new energy about it,” says Biljana Milosevic, Director of the Jannawi Centre. “Our former premises needed a lot of work to maintain and so to have a space that supports our work and can take us into the future is exciting. This flows on to the work we do with children and families – showing them that they deserve nice spaces and that better things lie ahead.”
The Brookfield volunteers enjoyed the teambuilding aspect of the day, and a sense of achievement at what they accomplished in such a short time. “I hope it allows the children and their families to have a sense of home,” says Emily. “As discussed by Jannawi, the theme behind the centre is to have a place that feels safe and welcoming, not brand-new clinical furniture, but furniture that is familiar and homely, and made or refurbished with love!”
Brookfield hopes to attend many more workerbees in the future. “We believe that making a positive contribution to the communities in which we operate is fundamental to the way we do business. We aim to support a culture of charitable giving and volunteerism amongst our colleagues and business partners, with a focus on four areas: homelessness, youth and education, healthcare, and the environment. This opportunity was a collaboration with Brookfield Cares, our corporate and social responsibility program, and bNext, our employee engagement group for future leaders in the business, two groups that are eager to support the next generation and help out when they need it.”
