Quilters raise funds for Emerge
Toowoomba Quilters Club is taking its needlework in a new direction by raising money for Emerge Youth Services. At the Launch of the Club’s annual Charity Art Union, Toowoomba Quilters Club members heard about Emerge Youth Services from the organisation’s passionate CEO and Founder, Jen Shaw.
Allora Homestead residents’ gifts for new borns
Allora Homestead residents have been busy over winter making blankets and beanies for the Warwick Hospital. A wonderful effort by Judy, Kay, Laisa, Rae, Jess who have made these items with love and care for the new born babies.
Brian’s 550km ride for sick kids
Rodney Stevens. When Brian Elvery was offered the opportunity to ride his bicycle more than 500km to raise money for Ronald McDonald House he didn’t hesitate to accept. Last week, along with a core group of a dozen other cyclists plus support crew, Mr Elvery got in the saddle on Tuesday at Inverell, for the 2022 Ronald McDonald House Northern NSW Ride For Sick Kids, aiming to raise $200,000.
Our very own Story Dog
Wyreema State School is lucky enough to have access to its own Story Dog, Lady, on a weekly basis and the students love reading to her. Lady is directly sponsored by the Toowoomba West Lions Club but the program itself is run by the charity, Story Dog Australia, which covers the training and insurance of the dog.
Safer work environment needed for workers in the NSW sustainable timber industry
Blockade Australia activities which stopped Sydney peak hour traffic on 27 June 2022 is an experience which timber harvesting contractors have been confronting for years. In the week ended August 5, 2022, on five successive days, protestors entered timber harvesting sites in Northern NSW and placed their personal safety in danger to such an extent that work ceased.
Local business donating hundreds of meals to those in need
The last two and a half years have taken so much from so many, and so Mardi Brown and Pete Gurrie, owners of Sunday House, wanting to find a meaningful way to contribute to the community, have launched an initiative to donate fresh meals for every direct booking made. The money raised will go towards assisting vulnerable people across the country via the superheroes at SecondBite, one of Australia’s largest food rescue organisations.
Lockhart baker scholarships
Lockhart baker Steve Peters has awarded the first of his Blue Bird Cafe Restaurant scholarships to nursing student Holly Louise Fordham. Mr Peters is giving something back to the community by offering university students from Lockhart Shire the chance to receive some money from the scholarship incentive he is offering.
Rural Aid secures drinking water for students after Valkyrie State School ran dry
A small central Queensland state school now has a secure drinking water supply, after six years of dry taps and plastic bottles. Australia’s most trusted rural charity, Rural Aid, has facilitated the installation of a SOURCE Hydropanel array at Valkyrie State School and believes that this technology could help facilitate drinking water security for other struggling schools.
Raising funds to fight depression, post traumatic stress and suicide
On Saturday 10 September Maldon’s CFA Captain, Sean McCubbin, and 600 other firefighters and emergency services personnel will be climbing the 28 floors of Crown Metropol Hotel to raise funds for mental health. Participants will be wearing 25kgs of turnout gear and breathing apparatus as they climb the steps for the ninth annual Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb, which aims to break down the stigma around mental health, and be a leader in the emergency services community in the mental health space.
Warwick Hospital welcomes donation
New equipment for the chemotherapy ward has been donated by the Leukaemia Foundation, to help honour a local woman's wish. Darling Downs Health Nurse Unit Manager Robyn Cameron said the staff at Warwick Hospital are extremely grateful.
New committee aims to help people stay healthier for longer
Dhelkaya Health is setting up a new committee that will work behind the scenes to help people maintain their health and wellbeing for longer.
Gruelling, yet cathartic experience for runner
Samuel Davis. Pacing across treasured destinations isn't anything unusual for distance runner Jamie Candler. But for some reason, every euphoric stride through Yarraden Nature Refuge felt unlike any trundle he'd been on before ... the mad dash between the remote communities was just a small part of a monumental 1000km journey for the Cairns-based youth worker.
Driven to help local farmers
Emma Pritchard. Aussie Hay Runners have partnered with Feed for Friends and the Rotary Club of Melton to transport 1000 bales of hay and several pallets of hard feed from rural Victoria to the Clarence Valley in support of local producers and small hobby farmers who have been adversely affected by the unprecedented flooding which devastated communities throughout Northern NSW earlier this year. A convoy of 31 trucks arrived in Grafton over the weekend.
Flooded hobby farmers need feed too
Sarah Booth is heartbroken about the small hobby farmers who don’t have enough feed for their animals since the floods. “I don’t have cattle but all I could see was heartbreak,” the Wyrallah woman said. Ms Booth has 60 families waiting for animal feed for cows, horses, pigs, goats and sheep.
Community Generation
Maldon residents Lauren Adele Stevens and her Dad, Ian Stevens, have once again headed off to Cambodia to continue working at Lauren’s Phnom Penh office with her local Cambodian team ... Alongside our WASH projects, Community Generation will commence a new project delivery of up-skilling and training local Khmer peoples with life-changing plumbing and maintenance skills delivered by fully qualified Australian plumbers,” Lauren said.
Vinnies helper for 50 Years
Kristin Nicholson. 50 years is an impressive length of time to be associated with one organisation. That's how long Barham’s Phil Mertz has been involved with the St Vincent de Paul Society, better known as Vinnies. Last month, Phil was recognised for his years of service. Phil began his association with Vinnies in the 1960s when he lived and worked at Hay.
Free tickets for Northern Rivers Conservatorium visiting artists program
The Northern Rivers Conservatorium Executive Director Anita Bellman is thrilled to announce that there will be free tickets for all flood-affected members of our community to attend the Northern Rivers Conservatorium (NRC) 2022 Visiting Artist program, made possible with the support of its friends at Musica Viva and Southern Cross University.
Byron Bay wildlife sanctuary
A new and exciting chapter has begun for the iconic Macadamia Castle located in the Byron Bay Hinterland, with the recent purchase by not-for-profit organisation Wildlife Recovery Australia (WRA). WRA is a joint venture between Odonata Foundation and Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital. WRA has been working for some months on the smooth transition from the locally known and loved Macadamia Castle to The Byron Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Winsome Soup Kitchen, a vision of hope at Lismore
John O'Donnell. After a walk along the Wilson River and Leycester Creek near their junction at Lismore, I called into the Winsome Hotel, thinking there might be a drink on hand, as it was close to lunchtime and there was no signage on the hotel indicating any changes in management. No luck with any drinks, but I met Mieke Bell and she generously donated her time showing my wife and I what was happening on the ground floor after the floods.
More Australians can’t meet basic living expenses
Research conducted by The Salvation Army has highlighted that the most vulnerable in our society are struggling to make ends meet, with 84% of those surveyed finding it a challenge to meet basic living expenses, including housing, utilities, food and health care in the past 12 months ... After paying for housing costs, many households were left with little disposable income – respondents in paid employment were left with just $29 a day to live on after paying for housing, and those on government support payments were left with only $22 a day.
Blast from the past: The Chinese concert
On Monday, 22 April 1901, Maldon’s Chinese community gave a concert at the Temperance Hall (now the Community Centre) to help raise funds for the Maldon Hospital ... A highlight of the evening was the Chinese dragon, worked by Tow Yin, Ah Chong and George Ah Mi. The dragon performed an elaborate dance before miming the actions of eating a meal and bathing and then settling down and going to sleep. The performance was greeted with loud applause.
Swap meet a success
Mike Riley. The Naracoorte Swap Meet and Show n Shine had something for everyone last weekend. The Naracoorte Historic Vehicle Club was very pleased with the turnout after a break of two years. The number of sites was over 320 and there were plenty of buyers. Site holders were very happy with their sales and generally believed that the Meet was better than the 2019 event.
