Happy Mother's Day
A Celebration of Mothers, Community, and the Power of Care:
Mother’s Day is one of the most universal celebrations of love, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bonds between generations. For the mothers and grandmothers in VASS’s Support at Home community, many of whom came to Australia from Arabic, Turkish, and Middle Eastern backgrounds, raising families in a new country while holding onto the warmth of their own cultures, it is a day that carries particularly deep meaning.
VASS Support at Home hosted a special Mother’s Day celebration at its Broadmeadows centre, bringing together older women from across the community for a morning of music, laughter, delicious food, fun activities, and the kind of genuine connection that makes life richer. The event was a beautiful, joyful occasion, and it was covered by the Turkish community newspaper Dünya, which described it as a day when participants experienced ‘joyful moments’ and ‘the atmosphere was sincere, fun, and cheerful.’
It was, in every sense, a day worth celebrating and a day that reflected everything VASS Support at Home stands for.
A Beautifully Decorated Venue
The VASS, SAH centre was transformed for the occasion into a warm and elegant celebration space, with white draping along the walls, gold chiavari chairs with pink cushions, and a magnificent floral arch of pink and white roses as the centrepiece. A Happy Mother’s Day sign on an easel and VASS, SAH branding banners completed the setting, creating an atmosphere that felt genuinely festive and thoughtfully prepared.
Attendees arrived to find tables laid with a generous spread of food and refreshments, including macarons, fresh fruit, strawberries, chocolate treats, savoury pastries, stuffed vine leaves, sandwiches, fresh juices, and water, all beautifully presented on pink and gold tableware. The care that went into the preparation was evident in every detail.
🎵 Music, Songs, Games, and Activities
The program was designed to be as joyful and engaging as possible. According to the Dünya newspaper coverage, the day included music, songs performed by attendees, fun games, and special activities organised for participants. The atmosphere was described as warm, sincere, and full of laughter, exactly the kind of environment that the VASS Support at Home program works to create.
The program was designed to be as joyful and engaging as possible. According to the Dünya newspaper coverage, the day included music, songs performed by attendees, fun games, and special activities organised for participants. The atmosphere was described as warm, sincere, and full of laughter, exactly the kind of environment that the VASS Support at Home program works to create.
🤝 Strengthening Social Bonds
VASS representatives noted at the event that celebrations like this one play a vital role in strengthening the social connections of older participants and helping them maintain an active, engaged relationship with their broader community. This is precisely the mission of the Support at Home program: not just to assist with practical daily tasks, but to support participants to live full, connected, and meaningful lives.
The Mother’s Day event brought together women from diverse cultural backgrounds united by shared experience, shared values, and a shared joy in celebrating the occasion together. The room, as visible in the photographs, was full to capacity, a testament to how much this kind of community gathering is needed and valued.
As Covered in the Turkish Press: Voices from the Community
The event was featured in the Turkish community newspaper Dünya with coverage by journalist Mustafa Yılmaz of Avustralya Gündem. The article, headlined VASS, SAH Celebrated Mother’s Day for the Elderly,’ captured the voices of several participants who shared what the VASS Support at Home program means to them personally.
Their words, translated from Turkish, speak more powerfully than any program description could:
Why Events Like This Matter
The Mother’s Day celebration was more than a party. It was an act of recognition, a statement that the older women in the VASS, SAH community are seen, valued, and celebrated. For participants who may spend significant time at home, who may face language barriers when accessing mainstream services, or who carry the particular loneliness of having raised their families far from their country of origin, a day like this carries profound emotional weight.
The words of participants and their families in the Dünya coverage say it most clearly: VASS, SAH has lightened their burden. VASS, SAH has solved problems. VASS, SAH has made them feel lucky to be here. These are not small outcomes; they are the difference between a life that feels supported and one that feels abandoned.
