Last Friday saw a wonderful Winchelsea Road Show at the Shire Hall – running most of the day with a number of presentations, stalls, grazing food and lots of great conversations. Just a great collaboration between community groups, the Winchelsea Community Bank, and Surf Coast Shire. A special congratulations to Rose, the Shire’s Age Friendly Officer, who put it all together into such a successful package.
Of course it takes many hands for an event like this to work. MCs were Jenny Mathison and Charlie Earl (the latter’s voice particularly needed to overcome the chatting hubbub in the breaks to get everyone back to their chairs!). Charlie started the day with a very moving outline of his drive for passion for mental health support, a theme that was repeated through the day. Hesse Hospital, Rural Financial Counselling Service, Council Of The Aged (COTA) all provide helpful services in this regard, amongst others.
The delicious all-day grazing food was provided by Feed Me Surfcoast, whose volunteers also beaver away in Torquay providing 5,000 free meals a week to those that need them. They have a mission to stop food going to waste, by offering it to anyone no questions asked, optional donation welcome but not at all required. Pop in and see them in Cylinders Drive (open hours on their Facebook page).
An event like this underscores how important volunteers and their organisations are to community. Winchelsea Mens Shed had a stall, both them and Moriac Mens Shed open to new members, providing places to go for social connection while doing something useful. Winch House provided the PA system (inherited from the Winchelsea Festival) and lots of people helped with setup and packdown. A good day all round.
Speaking of volunteers, I also had the privilege of attending the Winchelsea Lions Club changeover dinner. Congratulations to President Graham, Vice-President Raymond, Treasurer John, Secretary Rob, and Membership Robbie. The Lions Club does so much good around the community, much of it unseen and unpromoted. Local clubs like this are a huge part of what makes a community ‘livable’, with benefits to the members and to all those they help. I wish this year’s leadership team all the best for the coming year. There are so many opportunities to volunteer whatever your interest, and it is so good for you, so if you can fit it in, I highly recommend getting involved.
