On Monday, 6 December 2021, CASS held a spectacular Earth Turning Ceremony for its new Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) project at Asquith, signifying its residential aged care service stepping into a new era.

The Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts was the Guest of Honour. Other VIP guests, including Mr. Julian Leeser MP; Mr. Jason Li, Representing The Hon Tony Burke MP; The Hon Philip Ruddock, Mayor of Hornsby Shire and Dr. Cedric Spencer, Councillor of Ku-ring-gai Council, together with community leaders, joined this remarkable and memorable Earth Turning Ceremony.

CASS Chairperson, Dr. Bo Zhou, together with other Board members, including Henry Pan OAM, Dr Leng Tan, Anthony Pang, Sean Zhang, Tao Bai, Dong Li, Bei Lu, Esther Dong, Tica Lee and Shun Cheng, as well as several key CASS Management staff members were present. Nearly 100 guests, including community leaders and media representatives attended the Ceremony, reflecting the tremendous support and enthusiasm of the community to CASS and the new RACF Project.

The Ceremony began by Welcome to Country conducted by a local Aboriginal elder, followed by a Korean drum performance by members of CASS Bong Bong Senior group, warming up the joyous atmosphere.

CASS Chairperson, Dr Bo Zhou, in his speech said, “In meeting the strong demand for residential aged care by people of the culturally and linguistically diverse communities, we built and commenced operating our first RACF in early 2015. During the past six years, we have received positive feedback for the quality services we provided from our service users and the authorities, and there is a long waiting list. To address the acute community needs for residential aged care, in 2017, we announced our endeavor to build the second RACF in Asquith. Since then, we have been planning this project. Ultimately, The Development Approval for this Project was granted by the Hornsby Shire Council at the end of 2020, and 97 bed licenses were allocated by the Federal Government in late July 2021. This new RACF, together with the adjacent Independent Living Unit, will form a new quality community for the frail aged people of East and Southeast Asian backgrounds. This grand project marks another remarkable milestone in the history of CASS development.”   

Dr. Zhou continued, “The construction works is expected to be completed by mid-2023. To realise this magnificent Project, CASS needs to source about $35 million, excluding the land costs. Apart from bank loan, CASS is required to raise about $6 million.” He appealed to all those kind-hearted and benevolent people to donate generously, to enable the RACF to stand on this site in the not-so-distant future, providing care and quality services to those elderly people in need.

Dr. Zhou thanked the Federal Government, community organizations, media and people of all walks of life for enabling the achievement of this milestone. He also thanked the concerted efforts of volunteers, staff members, Directors on past and current Boards, who have contributed quietly to the development of CASS over the past 40 years. In particular, he mentioned the selfless devotion and dedication of Mr. Henry Pan OAM, Foundation Chairperson and current Honorary Executive Director, for his generosity to donate the entire Award prize money of US$160,000 he recently won from the internationally renowned “Compassion Award 2021”, to the building of this CASS Asquith RACF project.

The Hon Philip Ruddock, Mayor of Hornsby Shire Council, expressed his sincere appreciation for the establishment of the new RACF in Hornsby LGA, providing a caring and quality place for multicultural elderly people to enjoy their lives. He commented that this project generated a positive initiative to foster interaction and communication between the local residents and multicultural communities. He wished the construction works to be smooth and successful.

The Hon Paul Fletcher MP remarked, “CASS is widely recognized for its quality services and ongoing innovation in the provision of community services to the multicultural communities in the past four decades. The new RACF project will enable the elderly people living with an enjoyable life. Without question, the contributions of CASS towards the society are to be highly acknowledged.”

The CASS Hornsby Seniors Activity Group then sang a song, followed by a dance performed by the CASS Vietnamese Activity Group, bringing the atmosphere of the occasion to a new high.

Other VIP guests, Mr. Julian Leeser MP, Mr. Jason Li and Clr Cedric Spencer, all congratulated the commencement of the project and looked forward to seeing more elderly people benefiting from the new RACF.

Then came the climax of the Ceremony with the action to turn the earth, and it was the finale to officiate the beginning of the construction works. In the process, every guest was issued with a yellow safety helmet to wear, holding a silver shovel in hand, and dug into the ground together, symbolising the start of the construction of the new RACF.

The weather was fine with clear sky and comfortable temperature to conduct the Ceremony in the open.