Category: Uncategorized

‘On the morning of Nov. 7th 2011 Alex’s and my world changed forever. Our four month old son, River Jak Adam Waddell, passed away in his sleep in what was later determined to be a SIDS event. Our first child, River was a healthy and happy baby boy, with no symptoms of any illness. He was put to bed in his cot, on his back – he was sleeping safely as per the recommended guidelines and breastfed by his Mum who didn’t drink or smoke – yet still fell victim to this devastating condition.’ We hear from Karl Waddell, General Manager of River’s Gift.

‘Out of our tragedy River’s Gift was born, to raise funds specifically for research into Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). We identified that there was a vital need for SIDS research to again be afforded the attention it deserved. Research had largely been neglected since the early 1990s, following the dramatic reduction in infant deaths as a result of Sids & Kids’ success with Red Nose Day and the funding for education about safe sleeping practices. In just over 4 ½ years River’s Gift has raised over $500,000. Over $200,000 of this has been raised through our run training programs that we host in Geelong and have recently launched in Ballarat.

Continue reading “River’s Gift, Karl” →

‘I wanted to help distribute food directly to those in need.  With the help of Fr. Kevin Dillon, Parish Priest of St. Mary’s, my vision was realised.’ I’m interviewing Gary McIlvena as we sit in the St. Mary’s Food Pantry, next to St Mary’s Church in Yarra St. We are surrounded by shelves of packaged foods, freezers. A day later there would also have been a table full of fresh vegetables. ‘Our clients are marginalised. For example, the homeless or pensioners…they have Centrelink cards or Immigration cards.  A single person goes away with a single bag of groceries, a family with two or three bags. We help about forty families a week who come here from all over Geelong and district.

Continue reading “St Mary’s Food Bank, Gary” →

If you like a good laugh, go along to the Medimime at GPAC- and rest assured that your money is going to a good cause. ‘This year we are performing Sleeping Beauty, a show we haven’t done for quite some time. Tickets are on sale now. www.facebook.com/medimime/ The Andrew Love Cancer Centre is the worthy recipient of the funds – another cause close to my heart as I am an oncology nurse on Baxter Six, the in-patient haematology/oncology unit.’ We hear from Linda Menzel. ‘Medimime Productions was established in 1974 by Gerald Haywood, Don Robertson and John Zelcer under the auspices of The Geelong Hospital. The idea was to follow in the tradition of English hospitals by staging annual Christmas pantomimes with hospital and allied medical staff as the cast. The cast and crew comprises, where possible, hospital employees, Barwon Health and allied health professionals. Family and friends are also involved.

Continue reading “Medimime, Linda” →

Have you heard the BUZZ about Grovedale’s 3216 Connect Op Shop? Located at 2 Dendle St, off Marshalltown Rd, this little space is more of a community hub than an op shop. It also provides support to those facing the trauma of unemployment, suicide and long-term illness and practical help to assist people getting back to work. There is a food bank and financial planning assistance is available, while Manager Michele Warren and her team are well connected with various agencies and other community groups: “The two major groups that we tend to see are single parents (mothers and fathers) and women who have suffered domestic abuse,” she says.

Continue reading “3216 Connect Op Shop, Michele” →

‘Just recently they found a baby in a box in the dump. They are very clever in trying to track the family down and keep them together, and if necessary promote Ethiopian adoption.’ Liz Lester, a Highton GP, says she has been drawn in by the need in this African country, where the life expectancy is only 53. She takes donations and medical supplies to the “Grace Center” https://www.facebook.com/minardsatgracecenter which supports children and families in Bahir Dar, a town on a beautiful lake an hour’s flight from the capital Addis Ababa. It is similar in size to Geelong. Brisbane couple Deanne and Andrew are the co-founders of the Center, which helps over 300 children with before and after school care, childcare, and an orphanage.

Continue reading “Grace Center, Ethiopia, Liz” →

‘If the bees go, we go. I’m the founder of BeeSaviours, a registered charity. Its purpose is to conserve bees—not only honey bees but indigenous pollinators as well. The inspiration arose from my childhood experience of beekeeping in England, coupled with a love of nature.’ We are talking to Mark Colley from Teesdale.

‘Nicknamed ‘Insect’ as a young lad, my interest in the natural world has played a major part in my current awareness and activism.

Continue reading “BeeSaviours, Mark” →

‘A place where it’s ok to have Autism without anyone trying to fix anyone, a place to just be you.’ With this philosophy in mind John and Sharon Demopoulos created The Treehouse Geelong in 2008.

‘Most times having a child with autism is amazing but occasionally there are hard times, lonely times and every one of you knows what I mean, so we want to bring everyone together to talk to others about the wonders you experience every day and the bad experiences too. Let’s work together to make a place where spinning, flapping, lining things up and just being plain unsociable is the norm.’ [The Treehouse website]

Continue reading “The Treehouse, Lisa” →

Former Mayor of Geelong and Director of Fagg’s Mitre 10, Keith Fagg, tells us about his voluntary work with “Dignity Therapy” for patients in palliative care.

‘Becoming the Mayor of Geelong was not on my bucket list but I thought it would be a way of serving our community. I met a lot of great people in that role. I like to delegate and encourage others to get on with what it is they are doing. I think it is important to let the people with the knowledge and passion to continue doing their work.

Continue reading “Dignity Therapy, Keith Fagg” →

‘Each story is different but each also has similarities – being lied to, mistreated and forced to do things that I would never want to see happen to anyone!’ We hear from Kristi, a former Sacred Heart student and Christian College teacher, who relocated to India to found Offspring, a not-for-profit organisation working with young women rescued from sex trafficking.

‘The magnitude of sex trafficking in India is huge and what these girls go through is horrific. We see women and children who have been bought, sold, traded and stripped of the most basic of human rights. We see them abused and treated as a commodity, rather than a dignified human being; someone’s daughter (their “offspring”), sister and friend. We see young women who need our help urgently.

Continue reading “Offspring, India, Kristi” →

‘If you’ve gone to your fridge or cupboard and haven’t got enough food to put a meal on the table for your family that night, we can help out, judgement-free.’ We’re talking to Tina Taylor, Founder of Spare Meals Geelong, an emergency food relief program for low to no-income families.
‘I’d been home for a few months after having a baby and was looking for a project. After scrolling through a Facebook group I had noticed a woman offering up a tub of fried rice. At this stage there were no food sharing pages. So I suggested there should be, I started a Facebook page “Spare Meals Geelong’ and encouraged people to join, including the woman who had originally offered up the tub of rice.

Continue reading “Spare Meals Geelong, Tina” →