Calacare

06/08/2025

💙 Wear Denim, Raise Hope: Jeans for Genes Day – 7th August 💙

Today, Thursday 7th August, Calacare staff are proudly wearing our favourite jeans to mark Jeans for Genes Day - a national initiative supporting the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI).

It’s a simple way to stand together for a bigger cause: finding treatments and cures for children living with genetic conditions.

Why we’re taking part:

In Australia, 1 in 20 children is born with a genetic disease or birth defect - conditions like cystic fibrosis, childhood cancer, metabolic disorders or neurological disorders.

Jeans for Genes began in 1994 and, over the past 31 years, has raised more than $65.7 million to fund medical research that helps give kids a chance to just be kids again.

How we're joining in:

Our office staff are wearing jeans to work and have encouraged our support workers to do the same, along side donations from the team, with 100% of funds going directly to CMRI to support breakthroughs in gene therapy and paediatric research.

30/07/2025

Happy Hump Day 🤩

We all love a good midweek pick me up, so we thought you might enjoy one too. So, without further ado...

Meet Rocky Balboa – Our Newest Team Member 🪨

At Calacare, we like to keep things rock solid, so last month we gifted one of our support workers a googly-eyed companion to take on his day to day adventures.

Rocky Balboa:
✔️ Emotionally stable
✔️ Always grounded
✔️ Zero complaints

Day 1: He’s already imprinted. This bond is stronger than most workplace friendships.

Day 2: Rocky took over. Jack hasn’t won a round since. Zero thumbs, still cracked at Fortnite.

Day 3: Big day for the team. One got a new tattoo, one got a rock, and one is a rock.

Day 4: “One beer for me and one... side of gravel for my mate.”
Cheers to low maintenance drinking buddies.

Day 5: Rocky’s review: “Not enough explosions. Not enough puns.”
Jack: Still recovering from the emotional ending.

Day 6: "He said he needed some alone time to get back to his roots."
We don’t ask questions anymore.

Day 7: Meet the family, they said. It’ll be casual, they said.
Now Rocky’s got a seat at Christmas lunch in the UK.

Day 8: Rocky made one enemy. But don't worry, Rocky’s first workplace incident is under investigation.

We pride ourselves in supporting our support workers - even if they’ve lost all their marbles and are now emotionally attached to a rock.

27/07/2025

🌟 A huge congratulations to our incredible superstar, Britt! 🌟

We’re beyond excited to hear that Britt and her family are expecting baby number two! 💖 Her partner Robert and their beautiful daughter Remi are over the moon and we couldn’t be happier for them!

Britt is one of the strongest people we know and there's no slowing her down! She’s not stepping away just yet – but when the time comes, we’ll certainly miss her positive energy and dedication. Our team and clients are lucky to have her around and we’ll be here, cheering her on every step of the way!

Wishing you all the best, Britt! We can’t wait to see your family grow! 👶💕

25/07/2025

Today at Calacare, we traded our office outfits for slippers and serious snuggle vibes - all in the name of National PJ Day! 💤

Because at Calacare, comfort and care go hand in hand, whether we’re out supporting participants or in the office… in mix match jammies.

Supporting our community, one cosy moment at a time.

We hope you enjoy our awkward Calacare Photoshoot, as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Happy Friday, we hope you had a lovely week ☺️


☺

10/07/2025

🌟 Happy Friday, everyone! 🌟

We’re heading into the weekend with full hearts thanks to this amazing drawing from one of our participants 💛

She created this beautiful piece for one of our incredible support workers.

Moments like these remind us why we do what we do. It’s about connection, kindness, and the little things that make a big difference. ✨

A big thanks to all of our support workers, who are all doing fantastic and working tirelessly!

22/06/2025

Today is National Public Service Day! 🚑

Today, we want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the police, ambulance, and all public service workers who support our community every single day.

At Calacare, we work closely with emergency services to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our participants, and we are truly grateful for their compassion, and quick response, especially in times of crisis.

To all frontline workers: thank you for the vital role you play in supporting people with disabilities and the wider community. Your dedication does not go unnoticed.



Find out ways you can celebrate Nation Public Service Day here:

Give a big thanks to the public servants who keep our communities running, from restoring power during a storm to checking for gas leaks and more.

17/06/2025

Our Day Program on Monday, looked a little bit different...

🦘🐊🦒🐢

Two of our incredible support workers, Angela and Iain, took a hand full of our participants to the Ballarat Wildlife Park on Monday.

Wallabies were fed and reptiles were petted, which outweighed the rain and winter chill!

Through the rest of the winter months we will keep the social outings up, but maybe stick to indoor activities...❄️

13/06/2025

Our Day Programs are well and truly underway and we are lovely every second!!

Last week our participants had a go at Tie Dye. We provided tops and socks for them to make their own. They turned out fantastic and the participants designs were amazing. It was a very creative and fun morning 🎨

The following Program was an Afternoon Tea, where we baked our own Scones and had a lovely catch up with other participants and staff🍪🍰

Head over to Instagram to have a look at the Day Programs we held this week at https://www.instagram.com/calacare1/

03/06/2025

Angela joined Calacare as part of her Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability) placement - and quickly became one of the most valuable members of our team. 💙

Despite living with hearing loss, anxiety, chronic fatigue, and osteoarthritis, Angela has never let challenges define her. With the support of Carolynne at are-able, she explored a new career path in disability support - and found her calling.

When a car accident threatened her ability to keep working, Angela didn’t hesitate to offer alternatives until she could get back on the road. Her commitment inspired us to step in and provide a company car - because we knew she was worth it.

Her support, care, and resilience have changed lives - including her own. 🌟

We’re incredibly proud to have her on our team. Thank you, are-able, for helping make this journey possible.

https://www.areable.org.au/2025/04/angelas-journey-finding-purpose-and-stability-through-employment

30/05/2025

🎉 Bowler of the Week Alert! 🎳

We received a photo of one of our incredible clients, Issy, who was recently named Bowler of the Week!!

With a fantastic score of 140 - that's 33 points above the average - she bowled her heart out and showed everyone what determination, focus, and a love for the game can achieve!! We are so happy for her, and as you can see, she was pretty proud of herself 😆

Keep shining, Issy - keep up the good work 🤩

27/05/2025

Calacare is on TikTok!

Got a few minutes to spare and want a good laugh? Come check out the lighter side of Calacare - meet our amazing staff, get a glimpse into the lives of our wonderful clients, and learn more about the NDIS and the disability support sector along the way 💙

We’ll also be aiming to share updates and behind the scenes snippets of our Day Programs, for example, the Pizza and Games night we are hosting THIS THURSDAY 29th May 🍕🏓

These videos will aim to include the planning of some of the Day Programs and the activities themselves - so you can see what goes into creating meaningful and inclusive experiences for our clients.

We’re excited to share more of what we do - and we’d love to hear from YOU! Got ideas for what you’d like to see on our page? Drop them in the comments or send us a message. Let’s keep this fun, informative, and all about your interests! 🤩

👉 Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/

24/04/2025

After a fun and successful Open Day, we’re so excited to announce that over the coming weeks our Day Programs will now be up and running!

Our amazing clients and staff will be getting involved in all sorts of meaningful and creative activities, including (but not limited too):

🌱 Gardening 🎨 Arts & Crafts 🪵 Woodwork

🍳 Cooking 🚌 Day Trips 🧠 Life Skill Workshops

At our Calacare hub, we have also set up a Sensory Corner – a calm, quiet space for clients to relax and regulate, when things feel a bit overwhelming.

We can’t wait to see our clients and staff making memories together and reaching their goals.