Team
Prue McDonald – Founder, Director & Mentor
Alchemy Services was founded by Prue on the principles of ‘We All Matter’. Starting out solo, and growing to become Alchemy Support in 2021, Alchemy Support then transitioned to Alchemy Services in 2022 with more of a focus on mentoring and empowerment.
Since that time, the Alchemy crew has grown substantially to include an administration and accounts team and human resources, along with a compassionate team of mentors/support workers.
After leaving teaching, Prue embarked on a journey of self-discovery and learning. She connected with an amazing mentor, Scott Hardy, who opened her mind to seeing another way and working from the heart. This led to creating a successful business as a Behaviour, Education & Wellbeing Coach which provided mentor programs for children disengaged in the school system, working 1:1 with children and families with ASD and running parent programs.
Prue has a passion to open the minds of more people to authentically connect with and journey alongside people living with a disability and for society to see behaviour through a new lens. She is currently developing the Educate 2 Empower Success Program (E2E) for support workers, mentors, parents and teachers as a way to empower them to see, hear & authentically accept & connect with ALL children & ALL people living with a disability. It is here where true ‘Transformation of Behaviour’ is understood and we can all live in a space of respect, acceptance & love.
If you ask Prue the question, what does Alchemy mean to you, this is the answer you will receive: Alchemy to me means transformation. I hope to empower one person at a time to transform their lives to be in their power and live their most authentic amazing version of them.
Prue
Pria
Pria Martin- Participant & Mentor Manager
Pria joined Alchemy Services in mid-2021, originally as a mentor/support worker, supporting our wonderful clients. As time progressed, Pria moved into the role of administration and scheduling, and is blessed to wear many hats.
Her days are never the same, with a wide variety of things happening from meeting new clients, to scheduling rosters and answering the phone. One moment Pria could be in the accounts role and the next moment in the mentor role, and then within the blink of an eye, in the scheduling role.
Pria holds a Diploma of Counselling, Diploma of Business & Management and Certificate IV in Youth Work.
In her spare time, Pria is kept busy spending time with her two children, along with breeding Australian miniature goats, and spending time with their dogs, cats, chooks, hopping mice and barking gecko’s.
Pria believes ‘variety is the spice of life’ and she certainly has plenty of variety in her role with Alchemy.
Why Alchemy?
Role Models
Our mentors are reflective, life long learners. They understand and take ownership in their part and work from a space of wholeheartedness & respect. They understand they have not walked in the participants shoes, so we don’t know what is the best for the client, however, meeting the client where they are at, then journeying alongside means the participant is in the driver seat and the mentor is highlighting other options along the way.
Growth & Learning
At Alchemy Services, we are fully committed to the growth and learning of our mentors/support workers so that the clients are organically empowered to be in the driver seat of ‘their life.’
This commitment to growth & learning means that our workers are continually expanding their confidence, abilities and keeping up with new ways to be their best version for the client in the moment.
Understanding that we all live & learn in our own unique way means that Alchemy Services has the flexibility to meet the needs of each and every client and support and empower them in real life, in the moment situations.
Growth and learning is an extremely high priority within Alchemy Services.
Valued Diversity
Alchemy Services value diversity. We know that each person is their own unique version of themselves and recognising this is important to provide a wholehearted service to all clients.
This understanding means that each client is accepted and empowered to take the lead in their life whilst being supported to foster creativity, empathy, social cohesion and innovation.
Diversity enables equitable participation in society and allows people to build a stronger sense of identity and well-being.
Alchemy truly believes that we should all be provided with the opportunity to succeed, and therefore, are committed to ensure that the interests and perspectives of our clients and workers are understood and supported. We are committed to valuing and including different ideas, backgrounds and opinions when making key decisions, along with developing and generating new ideas and solutions to challenges, including our clients toughest challenges.
Our clients represent an extremely broad range of people, thus, the best way for us to support their needs is to reflect that same diverse representation within our own team.
Trusted Support
Alchemy Services are open and transparent with all of our client’s needs and expectations, thus, allowing us to provide a consistent and wholehearted support service. ‘We all matter’ means that the workers are held and empowered so they can journey alongside the client in full acceptance for the client to be seen, heard supported, respected & safe.
We believe in our clients so they can believe in themselves to see, feel and be in their full expression to engage in daily activities and live as independent as possible.
We go out of our way to understand our clients’ challenges and needs and provide individual, tailored support to help maintain a balance emotionally, physically & mentally. We create personalised experiences for our clients which assists us to cultivate trust. We go the extra mile to listen and understand.
Our mentors/support workers work extremely close with clients to build trust with them. We value respect – we listen first and respond later. We tap into our clients wants and needs and form a connection by displaying sensitivity, transparency, honesty and dependability.
We understand that building clients trust means ‘walking the walk’, and at Alchemy we have a range of mentors who have ‘lived experience’.
At Alchemy, you can rely on us for:
- Respect
- Reliability
- Transparency
- Flexibility
- Authenticity
- Confidentiality
Understanding & Flexible
Alchemy Services know that to truly provide exceptional services to our clients we need to remain understanding and flexible.
To understand, one requires flexibility and empathy to be able to meet the client’s’ needs. We know the importance of understanding our clients’ priorities, needs, wants and requirements. Understanding our clients means they are seen, heard and supported in full acceptance in each moment irrespective of their current situation.
This understanding opens up for trust and loyalty between Alchemy and all clients.
We empathically listen to understand, and we understand and are open to different communication styles that enables us to effectively interact with all clients, and this is at the core of wholehearted connections.
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