No Woman Left Behind This Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and former seamstress, Mrs Ruth Keith, has prepared something special for the ladies of Resthaven Port Elliot.

Mrs Keith is the wife of a Resthaven Community Services client, and previously owned a children’s clothing store, hand-making many of the outfits she sold.

"Ruth explained that she had plenty of material left over and wanted to use it to make something special for the women of Resthaven on Mother’s Day," says Tanya Boakes, Assistant Manager, Resthaven Murray Bridge, Hills and Fleurieu Community Services.

Excited to commence her special project, Mrs Keith phoned her husband’s Coordinator, Michelle Tonkin, to query the required amount of material needed to get the ball rolling.

"We were thrilled to receive her call – what a lovely gesture it is to commemorate the women before us in this way," Michelle reveals.

After receiving the go-ahead, Mrs Keith set to work, making eighty-five handcrafted gifts.

"Ruth prepared individualised gifts for everyone, using lace material and ribbon, filled with Potpourri for residents to enjoy on Sunday."

The reasoning for Mrs Keith’s project is one close to her heart.

"When she would visit her own mother in residential care, she remembered those other mothers who didn’t have a family connection, missing out on this type of small gesture."

"Ruth said to me, 'Even if some ladies are not mothers, they all had a mother, and deserve to be celebrated', a special, heartfelt statement."

Thank you, Mrs Keith, for your generous donation, enabling all the ladies at Resthaven Port Elliot to receive a special gift for Mother’s Day.

Established in 1935, Resthaven is a South Australian not-for-profit aged care community service associated with the Uniting Church in Australia.

Every day, Resthaven shares the lives and wisdom of older people and their carers, opening doors to the full range of aged care service options available.

Services are provided throughout metropolitan Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills, Murraylands, Riverland, Fleurieu Peninsula, lower Barossa region and the Limestone Coast of South Australia.