Thanks to the generosity of a local family and a school project with a purpose, Bethanie Waters Aged Care Home in Port Kennedy has been the lucky recipient of a Google Home Mini.
Doug Minchin and his grandson Joshua Roper, a year 9 student at South Coast Baptist College, donated and installed the home technology device for resident Annie McCall who is vision impaired.
Purchase of the device was funded through Rotary and Doug, who is an active member.
Joshua says, “This project required me to help out in the community with my mentor, so I thought this would be a good project for all concerned. It involved donating and helping install one or more Google Home Minis to an aged care home in my area.”
The Google Home Mini helps Annie to access the internet, check the weather, look up information, access her music etc., all using voice commands.
“It is wonderful, every morning when I wake-up I say, ‘Good morning Google’ and it tells me the date, the weather and the news. It has been the best thing for me since my vision went bad. It lets me access information and stay connected with the world around me” says Annie, adding that she wants to encourage people who might be a bit “scared of technology” to make the most of such devices that are available to them.
According to Joshua the Home Mini is easy to use, being activated by voice commands, helps with feelings of “being alone” and stimulates the user’s brain increasing their knowledge about what’s happening in the world.
Photo: Annie McCall with her Google Home Mini
