More than a year after work began transforming an almost vacant council building at Buddina, Restoring Hope Parkinson’s Therapy officially opened its new Community Hub on Saturday afternoon, drawing a crowd of well over a hundred supporters, clients, tradespeople and local officials to celebrate the completion of the project.
Federal Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace cut the ribbon on the newly renovated centre at 50 Iluka Avenue, following a programme of speeches, a commissioning prayer, certificate presentations and a performance from the charity’s own Choir of Sound Intent.
Speeches Reflect on the Journey
Founding director Louise Williams told the gathering that establishing an ACNC-registered charity and building the hub had not been easy. She said the charity’s Christian faith underpinned its belief that the ability to communicate, eat and drink safely was fundamental to a person’s independence and sense of purpose, and noted that up to 90 per cent of people with Parkinson’s experience some impact on their voice, speech or swallowing.
Louise read a reflection from a therapy client describing life before treatment, when grandchildren no longer wanted to be read to and phone calls were avoided, compared with life afterwards, when speech had become clearer and family members were no longer needing to ask him to repeat himself. His message to others, she said, was direct: communication should not be allowed to quietly disappear.
Director Karen Malcolm gave a history of the charity and the hub project, and introduced the organisation’s client ambassadors, known as the “Amigos,” including Peter Stidolph (now deceased), Kevin McAney, Scott Grimley and Steve Edwards, who work alongside the charity to support its mission.
A Client’s Perspective
Arthur, a client of Restoring Hope, gave a personal account of living with Parkinson’s since his diagnosis eight years ago, after roughly two years of unexplained symptoms beforehand. He described the frustration of a deteriorating voice that he could not initially perceive himself, of handwriting that grew smaller and less legible with each signature, and of a computer mouse that became almost impossible to control. It was ultimately his wife who insisted he return to his neurologist, leading to his referral to Restoring Hope and the SPEAK OUT!® programme.
Arthur said his goal in therapy had simply been to keep doing what he was doing at that moment, speaking in public without losing his breath or becoming unintelligible. He credited the Sunshine Coast’s concentration of Parkinson’s support services, describing the region as what he called the “centre of gravity” for people living with the condition, and thanked the donors, tradespeople and staff who had made the new facility possible.
Trades and Community Groups Recognised
The bulk of Andrew Wallace’s address was devoted to recognising the volunteers and tradespeople behind the renovation. He recalled visiting the site some 12 to 18 months earlier and, drawing on his own background as a builder before he entered law and politics, told the crowd, that he was not surprised that the initial goal of the $50,000 fundraiser proved well short of the final cost.
Dozens of tradespeople and suppliers were individually thanked and presented with certificates, among them electrician Michael Farrier of Sparkies Plus, who was later named the project’s Tradie of the Year. Contributors including Montville Mist Spring Water were recognised. Peter and Alli of Montville Mist have been long time supporters of the charity. A separate award recognised Hope Community Church, which hosted the charity’s therapy programmes for seven years prior to the move, while the Blackall Range Lions Club was thanked from the floor for its long-standing support of the Sunshine Coast community. The Lions Club also ran the barbecue for Saturday’s launch, alongside a coffee van.
The Blackall Range’s connection to the charity ran through much of the afternoon. QCCC Mapleton, the Christian conference and recreation centre, is one of several local businesses that has long supported Restoring Hope’s Hope Spreads fundraiser, which sells honey, tomato relish and seasonal lemon butter with all proceeds going directly to the charity’s therapy programmes, alongside The Barn at Flaxton and La Botiga Cafe at Mapleton.
Speaking afterwards, Karen said the charity had travelled to Mapleton to address the Parkinson’s support group run by Peter Hulme out of the Mapleton Men’s Shed, and that the charity’s relationship with The Barn on Flaxton stretched back several years, having begun when Restoring Hope sold honey through the venue. She said the Buddina hub represented the charity’s first dedicated base directly on the coast, having previously operated out of Nambour, and that the move reflected a deliberate effort to position Restoring Hope as a service for the whole Sunshine Coast rather than one tied to a single suburb. Karen also pointed to what she described as a close working relationship with other Parkinson’s-focused organisations in the region, saying the charity’s approach was defined less by exclusivity and more by staying involved with clients well beyond the end of formal therapy.
Director Alison Donaldson, who had personally painted much of the venue’s back wall, led a commissioning prayer for the building before the ribbon cutting.
Choir Performance Closes the Formal Programme
The Choir of Sound Intent, made up of Restoring Hope clients, performed a short set including an original song written for the group and a medley of cowboy songs, before guests were invited to tour the finished hub and share in a cake provided by Sundale. The afternoon’s Benevolent Bears auction proved a strong fundraiser in its own right, with the bears selling for between $600 and nearly $1200 each.
The Community Hub is now open, with Restoring Hope now offering individual and group sessions from their new location. RHPT continue to provide a weekly group and the weekly Parkinson’s choir from Nambour to maintain a convenient location for those living on the Range.
Anyone wanting more information about Restoring Hope Parkinson’s Therapy, including its services, volunteering opportunities, venue hire or how to donate, can visit rhptherapy.org.au, email info@rhptherapy.org.au or phone (07) 5408 5088.
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