Residents of the Bethanie Illawong retirement village organised a special day earlier in the month of June, celebrating self worth and promoting inner positivity. The idea was born out of a catalog of beautiful pictures at earlier ages in their rooms.

As there weren’t any current pictures of residents in their rooms, the residents, along with Bethanie Illawong care staff, volunteers and a hairdresser, spent the morning adding a bit of ‘glam’ and style to the residents before having their professional portrait taken, with even one of the residents, a former British Olympian, having his picture taken in his official Olympic blazer.

Residents hand picked their favourite self portrait image to be framed - which generated great appreciation and feedback from residents and their families, with some families even requesting copies of the pictures as a memento. 

“It was a great initiative to promote self worth and positivity for the residents.” Facility Manager of Bethanie Illawong, Barbara Walton said.

“The day was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone involved and the images turned out beautifully. Kat (the photographer) was fantastic to work with.”