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Hey party goers, The Porch Sessions is coming to Geelong, this Sunday! How cool is this, no-one knows where the party is until 24 hours before. Musicians Jack The Fox, Harrison Storm & Alana Wilkinson are in convoy from Queensland to South Australia, “crossing the country by day, and transforming backyards by night. With dirt in our fingernails and smiles on our faces. So, pack a bean bag, and roll down to one of these gorgeous little secret backyard shows. We’d adore to see you there.” From the Porch Session.

Sunday’s Geelong Porch Session is from 4pm, kids are welcome (this is an all ages event) and it’s BYO picnic, drinks, cushions and blankets. Hope to see you there. Humans in Geelong INSPIRE – CONNECT – STRENGTHEN our community by celebrating opportunites, creativity, health and wellness.

Photo: The Porch Sessions

 

Did you know there are close to 4,000 International Students from around 90 different nationalities, studying in Geelong? Think about how great this is for our economy. On top of the tuition fees paid, international students spend over $56 million dollars a year in the Geelong region. It is also a wonderful opportunity for us to learn about their culture and for them to learn about Australia. Please make our visiting students feel welcome.

They attend twelve higher education and secondary schools in Geelong. The students come to Geelong where they enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle compared to capital cities and feel welcomed by the local community. At a recent event held at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club, an educator fondly remarked on seeing students who had returned home after study now returning with their families to make Geelong their home.

Continue reading “Study Geelong.” →

Calling all Litter Champions! Fancy being a citizen scientist? Could you spare one hour each month? If yes, Caring for our Bays litter audit program needs you! You’ll become one of our Litter Hotspot Monitors. You’ll be allocated a specific location, gain simple training, equipment, data sheets and support. And you’ll get to clean up our local environment!

Unassigned hotspots include: Limeburners boat ramp, Cunningham Pier, Officeworks Geelong CBD, Queenscliff Ferry and Burnt Point in Queenscliff. For more info visit our facebook site Caring for our bays or contact project coordinator Angie Poole at angie.bcn@environmentbellarine.org.au or phone 0478 777 306.

Continue reading “Litter Champions.” →

“The next generation needs help and guidance. By me doing this, I can support the people who are helping keep the kids safe at Schoolies.”  Meet Graham Trevaskis. For the past 2 years, Graham has been donating half a day a week to clean the windows of the Bellarine Lakes Country Club, asking simply for a small donation to his favourite charity, The Red Frogs.

After hearing Red Frogs founder, Andy Gourley speak at his local church about how The Red Frogs crew head to schoolies each year acting as a mate to school leavers providing support services, direct relief like an emergency helpline and safely walking them back to their hotels, Graham knew he wanted to get involved, but how? He believes that “the world wouldn’t survive without volunteers. There are so many opportunities for people to do good. It’s amazing what people can do, even just small things in life to make life better for other people”. And although he could not physically attend Schoolies as a volunteer, Graham didn’t let that stop him. He decided to become a Red Frogs fundraiser instead!

Continue reading “Red Frogs, Graham” →

“Suffering is a normal part of life and we aim to ease that suffering. We don’t have a lot of money but we have a lot of passionate volunteers who like to lend a hand.” Pastoral Healthcare Network Australia, PHNA, was founded in Geelong in 2005, by Nurse and Midwife, Leonie Rastas. It is a nondenominational Health Promotion Charity whose core business is health promotion and illness prevention and addresses all three human dimensions: Mind, Body and Spirit.

Carmel O’Dwyer who is retired principal from Sacred Heart became the patron and the group is currently operating with a team of 20 Professional and non-professional volunteers, providing low cost services engaging with the elderly, marginalised, lonely, bereaved, disadvantaged and socially isolated members of the Geelong community.

Continue reading “PHNA Geelong, Leonie” →

One could easily mistake the deafening bang, to be from a shotgun, but it was actually faulty airbags being exploded. We had the pleasure of meeting Graeme Baltetsch who took us for a tour of GDP Industries (Geelong Disabled People’s Industries) in Baxter Rd. The enthusiastic and knowledgeable Graeme has been working with GDP for 46 years.

Graeme is the tour guide but also known as the generous handyman who helps out fellow workers with items from their homes that need fixing. Management affectionately and proudly told us of how he always goes above and beyond to help others.

Pictured is some of his handy work. These gorgeous wooden pieces of furniture are made from recycled wood. The vegie boxes and furniture can be made to order. GDP recycles almost everything you could imagine including polystyrene which is melted into blocks and sold to China. Then it comes back here as picture frames etc. They also dismantle electrical goods and recycle every piece possible.

Old fence palings are made into custom made seed trays for a Melbourne nursery and vegie boxes and the beautiful Wathaurong glass presentation boxes are made out of pine. In another corner of the deceivingly enormous factory, paper is being shredded.

GDP is an ADE (Australian Disability Enterprise) offering long term supported employment to people with a disability. They are a not-for-profit organisation registered with the Australian Charities Commission and have been operating in Geelong for over 52 years, Graeme’s almost been there from the start. They also manage the City of Greater Geelong’s Geelong Resource Recovery Centre in Douro Street where you can drop recyclable items for free and have centres at No 9 and No 21 Slevin Street.

Please note, everyone at GDP will be taking a well-earned break from Thursday 20th December until Tuesday 15th January 2019.

Keep up the great work Graeme and all the workers at GDP! We love what these guys do on so many levels. Reduce, reuse, recycle, renew!

Story: Jacqui Bennett Photos: supplied

“My mum worked very hard for us, working in many different places such as an almond factory, shoe factory and cleaning, just so we could go to school. Life was hard in Pakistan with my 4 sisters, my mum and I. We’d left my country Afghanistan in 1999, when I was only 3 years old, because of civil war, that’s why we ended up in Pakistan, away from our family and home.”

Omid Qayummi has been living in Corio since 2013. “Before I left Pakistan in 2013, I heard a lot about Australia and Melbourne. It was my dream to see this beautiful place one day! Now, I’m very grateful that I’m in this country.” Omid attended Northern Bay College where he also began to learn English. He graduated Year 12 in 2015. “I had some great years at Northern Bay with some great and very helpful teachers. I’m very thankful to them.

Continue reading “Omid Qayummi.” →

When asked; “Who are you?”, Olivia White smiles.  This is a question that she usually asks her clients.  As a spiritual counsellor and Hahnemann healer, she is not usually in a position where her own story is the subject of the conversation.  “I am a spiritual entity who uses the wisdom from my past lives to face challenges in this life.”

As a child Olivia was gifted with a strong sense of determination and a desire for honesty and authenticity.  Coupled with a strong intuition and interest in understanding the world, she began studying a degree in Commerce which led to a career in Human Resources.  This was followed by the study of Psychology and a dream to become a Psychologist.

Continue reading “Spiritual Counsellor & Hahnemann Healer, Olivia White” →

Shaz Martin was raised in a community where they didn’t have much. Though her and her family were less fortunate, her mother still found a way to provide and give a little extra to other families. Shaz has always loved people and less fortunate kids, mostly because she can relate to them but also God has given her this gift of selflessness and uncontrollable love.

Shaz believes that sacrificing herself for others is not an act of selflessness but, a gift God has given her. From a very young age her mother has presented many principles of love, that is what inspires her to love others the way God does and see those the way God sees them.

Continue reading “Shaz Martin by Mischa” →

Tallis St P-8 Campus of Northern Bay College is a proud campus that has seen improved student engagement through a focus on a growth mindset and positive psychology. Healthy food, mindfulness, meditation and physical activity are all a key part of the everyday program delivered at the campus. Campus Principal Jessica Kelly recalls when she began at Tallis Street, seeing such potential in her staff, students and local community.

“We decided to get our students outside and active. We used our love for healthy minds and bodies as motivation to get outside.  We started to grow our own Tallis Street vegetables and were energised by the motivation of the students and parents. It was such a success that we wanted to go bigger – and with the generosity of Geelong Grammar we are extending to ‘The Farm’. Growing food, preparing and eating it will be a large part of our school program moving forward.

Continue reading “Tallis St, Jessica” →