Dear Evolve Housing, friends and colleagues,

I would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone for their love and support and for making this a great organisation to be a part of.

As a volunteer over the years, I have developed unforgettable friendships, relationships and bonds with some extraordinary people within the organisation and it makes me proud to be involved in supporting and giving back the community.

I migrated to Australia in 1996 and I experienced all the hardships of communication barriers, being unfamiliar with support networks and assimilating to the Australian way of life. Twenty-five years on, as a proud Australian I told myself I will do what I can to provide the support, assistance back into the community to help those in a similar position to what I and my family were in.

In my early years living in Australia, I volunteered as a support service in the canteen at the public school my children were enrolled in.

Similarly, I have volunteered for medical research and development, specifically through my breast cancer journey to trial new and innovative treatment, in hopes that other females going through cancer could someday have an easier recovery and treatment to what I did.

Today, my journey continues with Evolve Housing and it has been very rewarding to see that through my support and experiences I can help others and continue to give back to the community of this lovely country I call home. Further to this, as a tenant of Evolve Housing it has helped me understand the areas of improvement, what we can do to make it easier and more affordable for all tenants and which ways we can continue to service our tenants.

I would like to specifically thank Margaret and Rob, for their ongoing love, support and for the lifetime bond we have. You have truly made me understand and appreciate the value of friendships, the value of being there for one another and the small things we do in our day to day life to make that bit easier for others. Evolve Housing has been a big part of my life for the last 15 years and I am truly humbled to be part of an organisation that has a positive impact on the lives of so many people. I have been lucky to receive such warmth and encouragement over the years which I will hold close and cherish for as long as I am alive.

I hope to spend the remainder years of my life giving back to our communities and always offering my help/services and support to my family at Evolve Housing and to the Evolve tenants in hopes of having that small positive impact on their lives.

Thank you for taking the time to listen, from your friend, colleague and tenants of Evolve.

Adela