A message from our new CEO
It is with great pleasure that I write my first message in Belong as Carinity’s new CEO.
Joining Carinity this year has come with an added bonus – it is our 75th anniversary. This anniversary is a wonderful opportunity for everyone at Carinity, and the broader Queensland Baptist movement, to reminisce on the organisation’s journey.
From humble beginnings, Carinity has grown into a significant organisation, touching the lives of thousands of people. But throughout this journey our reason for existing has not changed.
As an outreach of the Queensland Baptist movement, we strive to show God’s love through the care we offer to those in need. We exist to make a real difference to those around us – not just by what we do but by why and how we do it.
Carinity started with one aged care home in Brisbane in 1949. As the needs of vulnerable Queenslanders have developed, so too our organisation has evolved and the range of services we provide expanded.
Carinity now operates residential aged care, retirement villages, home care, disability support, chaplaincy, alternative education, and youth and family services. Carinity is a welcome presence in communities from Cairns to the Gold Coast, and west to Toowoomba.
In the few months since I started in my new role, I have had the opportunity to visit numerous Carinity sites, including some of our residential aged care communities and special assistance schools. These visits have been both inspiring and humbling. I have seen the qualities of compassion and selflessness displayed by each of our dedicated employees every day.
Their motivation complements my own philosophy about how we should support those in need: we work with people – and through people – to serve people.
The number of Queenslanders needing support continues to grow. In recent years we have responded by commencing or expanding a number of community projects including our Sunflower House disability respite home at Kalbar, and the expansion of disability support services in Beaudesert and Narangba.
Striving to meet a growing demand for pastoral carers in correctional centres, our Inside Out Prison Chaplaincy service currently has the largest number of volunteer chaplains of all missions of its kind in Queensland.
Carinity still has much work to do – and we are planning to do more in the future. We have identified the need to open a fifth Carinity Education special assistance school in Townsville. It will support teenagers who struggle in traditional schools or have previously faced barriers to education.
We also have a vision to expand some of our popular retirement villages and introduce our home care service to other cities, ensuring we support more seniors who wish to remain living in their own homes.
This year will also see a multi-million dollar refurbishment of our Clifford House residential aged care community in Brisbane – a wonderful 75th birthday present for Carinity’s original service!
While Carinity has grown our vision has remained the same: to reflect God’s love to people in need – and create communities where people are loved, accepted and supported.
As I close, I want to share that I have a deep conviction that none of us at Carinity are here by accident. I am convinced that everyone at Carinity – and our valued supporters – have been called here for a reason and that together we can achieve remarkable things.
I am personally excited to explore where God will lead Carinity in the future.
KEVIN GRIFFITHS
Carinity CEO
Read more stories from Belong – Winter 2024
