After years of relentless fundraising and lobbying, the Jindelara Respite Cottage is finally officially open.
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The ribbon was cut under blazing summer sunshine on Saturday morning, bringing to fruition one of the most successful community-based projects in the district’s history.
A crowd of volunteers, committee members and service club members gathered in the backyard of the new facility to witness the culmination of years of tireless effort.
READ MORE: Sod turned on Jindelara Respite Cottage
Lions Ulladulla District Community Foundation chairman Brian Thompson told the gathering the project was born in 2011. The local Lions club conducted a community needs assessment which revealed there was no local respite care for parents and carers of people with disabilities.
“In 2012, the Lions Club was introduced to a small group known as the Jindelarans,” Mr Thompson said.
“They were the parents, teachers and carers of young people with disabilities who had been fighting the bureaucracy without success to obtain a group home for the young people.”
The establishment in August 2013 of the foundation became a watershed moment.
READ MORE: Jindelara dream takes shape
The first ever grant to an Australian Lions club of $US100,000 from Lions International kickstarted the fundraising, followed by the establishment of the Lions Preloved Bookshop, which raised almost $300,000 towards the project.
A federal government grant of $358,000 in 2016, announced during a prime ministerial visit, ensured the dream would become reality. Until the morning of Mr Turnbull’s visit, it was thought only half the amount needed had been granted.
“The PM rang me the morning of the day he was coming and said, ‘I’ve actually managed to get you the full amount’,” Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis told the gathering.
Jindelara Services president Alison Wade explained the importance of local respite care to parents of disabled children.
“Knowing this family member is being looked after in this state of the art facility means the difference between coping and not coping, of being able to go to the movies, to go out for dinner, being able to spend time with other children, being able to sleep in, to entertain at home,” she said.
“It might even mean going on a holiday for the first time ever.”
The cottage will open to the public to explore from 9am-3pm on Saturday, March 3.
