kallista community house, another successful year

It was wonderful to be able to preside over the annual elections at the Kallista Community House AGM.

Kallista Community House President, Fyona Mitaxa and
Lyster Ward Councillor, Samantha Dunn celebrate
another successful year for the house.

Due to the rolling terms of the committee, this year saw dedicated community member, Kathy Cann, re-elected to the committee. 

It's been another big year for the house with Sue Etherington commencing as the new House Coordinator. During the year the house played a key role in the development of a new Christmas Carols event, which showcased local performers (and was terrific!). They continue to provide space for the Healing Sounds Group and Book Club. 

In a new initiative, the house provides space for the very successful Ukelele group - Kalulu. Workshops covering Retirement Villages and Wills & Power of Attorney were also delivered 

During the year the house partnered with BCAP to provide lantern making workshops as part of the Belgrave Lantern Parade. The house also partners with Belgrave South Community House to offer local seniors access to the 'Cafe Club' bus trips through long term partners U3A and Interlink. 

The House offers Occasional Childcare, which fortunately is funded by DEEWR, so wasn't under threat from the withdrawal of Take a Break funding. 100 families use the service and the centre provided just under 3,000 hours care in the past year. The Playgroup sessions are also very popular, with all sessions fully booked. 

It's wonderful to see such energy and enthusiasm for community development, I congratulate Kallista Community House Committee of Management, their staff and dedicated volunteers.

selbyfest a superfest

Congratulations to organisers of this year's Selbyfest. What a great celebration of all things Selby and the hills.
























Leanne Hall and her organising committee did a great job, there was something at Selbyfest for everyone. It was a showcase of local talent, food, art and craft, entertainment, fashion - it was wonderful. I'm proud to be able to support such a great community festival.

Selby Community House volunteers were out in force offering raffle tickets, short courses or a cup of chai. Selbyfest got some great support from local businesses including Hair Down There and Bill's The Butcher in Belgrave.


























The Dreaming Space was a great place for younger festival goers to see some magic, visit storytime and be enchanted with the day's entertainment.



















Selbyfest offered local groups the chance to fly the flag. Pictured here is the ever dedicated members of Southern Dandenongs Landcare Group, encouraging people to improve their local environment.

Part of the day's activities included the World's Greatest Shave fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation. Felicity Hostettler's commitment to the cause enormous, her curly locks shaved off to raise money for this important fundraiser.

Children and adults alike were entertained by the rocket launch, a terrific event that had everyone talking.

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Selbyfest had no shortage of local entertainers, Lily and King were one of the crowdpleasers. It's great to see their career take off and hear them on radio stations like 3RRR and of course our very own community radio station 3MDR (97.1).

The fashion parade was a great hit, it's great to see local fashion being modelled by locals!

The bellydancers were another display of the diverse talent in the hills. They kept the audience mesmerised through their performance.

Local muso's The Jed Rowe Band were in fine form. Real crowd pleasers, everyone was up and dancing, including one of the bellydancers.

The Fashion from the Forest parade featured six local fashion designers/retailers, who did a great job. Buy local, support local is an important message as part of Selbyfest. If you want to read more about Fashion from the Forest click here.

Bendigo Bank is a major sponsor of Selbyfest along with the Shire of Yarra Ranges. I'm very proud to be able to support such a wonderful community festival through a Yarra Ranges Council Community and Festivals grant. I'm already looking forward to next year's Selbyfest!

selbyfest nearly here

I hope you've marked Saturday 17 March in your diary for Selbyfest.
Running from 11am to 7:30pm, it's one community event not to be missed.

A great community event, held at the Selby Community House and the Minak Reserve (here).

There's a great line up of local talent across 2 stages, market stalls, workshops, animals of Oz, circus, face painting, workshops, rocket launching and much, much more. The not to be missed local fashion parade will be on again.

There will be a shuttle bus running throughout Selby, stopping at Belgrave every hour (opposite the train station on Belgrave Gembrook Rd).

I look forward to seeing you there.

occasional child care at risk

Last week I attended the Save Occasional Child Care Rally in Melbourne.

Coordinated by the Association of Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres among other things a petition of 3000 signatures was presented to parliament requesting the reinstatement of funding.

Last year the federal government withdrew funding from Occassional Child Care Services, whilst this year the state government withdrew it's funding too.

It was evident at the rally that the blame game is well and truly in play. The State Government blaming the Federal Government, the Federal Government blaming the State Government.

Rather than pointing the finger of blame, of more importance to families is for government to reinstate the funding. Occasional Child Care plays a critical role, providing flexible care which can be taken on a sessional basis or casual basis.

It provides children with the opportunity to socialise, gives parents much needed time, whether it be for part time work, to go to medical appointments without the littlies in tow, go to job interviews or manage mental health issues. Whatever the need it is an important childcare service that needs to be funded.

Many community houses in Yarra Ranges provide Occasional Child Care and I am concerned about the implications for them and the families that use the service. I will be calling for a report so council can understand the ramifications of this retrograde decision.

Rather than pointing the finger of blame, both the federal and state governments should be working on a way to make it happen, occasional child care is too important to lose.

kallista community house still going strong

It was terrific to attend the Kallista Community House AGM last week. It's always great to visit local community houses and see the diversity of activities and services available for community members and Kallista Community House is no exception.

Kathy Cann, long time house supporter, past house manager and current house committee member and Cr Samantha Dunn checking out the diversity of courses on offer at Kallista Community House.

It's been another good year for the house, despite the gloomy financial outlook of the GFC. The house has continued to offer a diverse range of classes including photography, painting and drawing, singing, cooking, health and fitness, first aid and computer classes.

The house also continued to provide Childcare, one of their staples whilst Playgroup has been very popular too with a second day added to the program.

I thanked the house for their ongoing efforts, particularly the wonderful community market, Kallista Community Market, a terrific example of community engagement providing locals with a chance to relax and chat in a beautiful setting. I also thanked the committee and volunteers that make it all happen, they contribute greatly to our community and the social fabric of the area and are to be commended.

agm season - belgrave south community house

Tis the season for AGMs and this week I was delighted to chair the Belgrave South Community House AGM.

What struck me particularly at this AGM was the amount of work that the Belgrave South Community House do for people with a disability. The house runs a tremendous range of programs that include:

Weekend Extend: a community based recreation program for adults with disabilities.

Extend: a community based day program where young adults with disabilities are encouraged to access the exisiting community house programs as well as a range of specific activities provided specifically for their interest and abilities.

Sailability at Lysterfield Lake: a sailing program providing sailing experiences for people with a disability.

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Here I am at the Sailability Jetty down at Lysterfield Lake, constructed in 2008 with the assistance of a grant from the Shire of Yarra Ranges, the floating jetty was especially designed and constructed to ensure ease of access into boats for people with a disability.

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As well as Riding for the Disabled, in Home Support and Support Coordination.

They fill a vital role and it couldn't happen without the dedication of the volunteers who give freely of their time to make it happen. Community houses are inspiring places and the extent of their reach, services and energy is always amazing.

broadband for seniors

I had the great pleasure of launching a new project NEC Broadband for Seniors at the Belgrave South Community House.

Pictured left to right: Lyn Young - Centre Manager, Cr Samantha Dunn - Lyster Ward, Vicki Boyle - trying out the system and Hillary Doulton - program coordinator.

Through NEC the project provides 2 broadband computers specifically for use by seniors with one on one tuition to guide newcomers through the maze of the internet.

Once the project runs its course the community house gets to keep the computers, which will be a wonderful addition to their computer lab.

It's a great initiative and yet another way Belgrave South Community House is assisting our community to build skills and connections.

public internet in belgrave south

Residents looking for internet access can now head to the Belgrave South Community House where a fully fledged computer lab offers community members public internet access and basic office software too.

Here is local Friends of Hazelvale Valley volunteer, Anne Elizabeth, surfing the net to identify this handful of weed nasties.

Belgrave South Community House also has PC’s fitted out with keyboards for the visually impaired and a track ball mouse for those with mobility challenges.

If you’d like to know more visit the BSCH website.

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