Christmas 2008

Yet another Christmas has arrived with the joy of sharing time with family and those close to your life. Every Christmas we are able to share the time with family and our friends and it has become a time when we really take the time to give thanks for what we have and what we share with others.

We teach our children the importance of Christmas and the meaning behind giving. We also help them to understand the religious side of Christmas.

I do hope you have time to relax and enjoy the atmosphere along with those near and dear to you.

Take Care and I look forward to catching up in 2009

Merry Christmas

Fiona

Bush Babies Graduation TAFE

What a wonderful experience to be a part of. 12 students who trained in the early childhood Certificate III in children's services were graduating. These ladies were training specifically as Aboriginal childcare workers in a course specifically designed to meet the needs of the Aboriginal culture.
They are now able to work directly with children and their families and I understand some of the graduates will be going on to do further study with a Diploma.
I wish them well in their new endeavours.........

FORG Christmas Party

I wasn't really sure of who this group was when I first accepted the invitation. I soon learnt that they were a group called Friends of the Regional Gallery using the acronym FORG. The evenings event was held at the Orange Botanical Gardens function centre and the atmosphere was jovial with Christmas cheer.
There were some people dressed in fancy dress and prizes were given for the most creative. Our children enjoyed the event and the evening flew by. The generosity of people who attended shone though with gifts being brought along for the Salvation Army Christmas appeal.
Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas......

Christmas Street Party 2008

A great deal of planning had gone into this years Orange Christmas Festival. The theme was to be the Twelve Days of Christmas and it was all set for a finally to the evening which would cause a great bang. Unfortunately there was a real dampness placed onto the event, and it was a dampness we couldn't complain about. It started raining and it was just what Orange had asked for.

The event was moved to the Orange Function centre and again a great deal of work was undertaken to do this. Orange City Council staff worked incredibly hard and pulled it off. The numbers of people attending dropped but the atmosphere was still there.

Santa arrived on a flash bike and said hello to all of the children. The most exciting part of the event was Santa's visit. There was a sing along some lollies and then he left to deliver his presents for Christmas. Even Mrs Clause was there.

Lots of activities, band music, games and face painting filled the evening with fun and family entertainment. Not to mention the last minute bit of shopping with stall holders showing off their wares.

Follow up workshop Mission Australia

Kirstin and I had undertaken our first workshop with Back 2 family basics and were now holding the follow up workshop. We needed to find out how our clients had gone with the new budgeting package which they received during the last workshop.

The Budgeting pack is a 3 part series that my husband and I had developed, used and then passed onto our children. The three eldest had purchased their own cars by the age of 15 and the 21 year old has just bought her first house and our 19 year old is in the process of purchasing his. Not a bad effort for young people.

Anyway back to the follow up workshop. We had less people attend the follow up which initially surprised us, this didnt last for long though when we found out that they were at their new jobs. We did receive feedback via the staff that their clients had been following their workbooks and had become very thrifty with their shopping and saving.

Good outcome and we are looking forward to many more. To learn more about our Budgeting Pack visit our website http://www.back2familybasics.com.au/

Midnight Basketball

Midnight Basketball has been held in Orange for the past few months bringing together young people who have the chance to engage in activities and learn new skills. My daughter and I had the opportunity to help out just recently and found the evenings events great for young people. The young people arrived via a bus which brought them to Play on Indoor. When they arrived they signed in and were delegated to different areas.

Some of them would start off with an educational workshop, others would do training to learn about basketball and the remainder played competition games. These groups rotated throughout the evening. Half way through the events a meal was put on by "Not Just Another Cafe" (NJAC) which gave us all a chance to hear one another stories. The kids really seemed to enjoy the evening and were keen to work out who was playing who on the next evening.

My daughter and I volunteered to help with the running of Midnight Basketball which gave young people a chance to socialise away from home. There were quite a few volunteers and they all made friends with the kids and learnt the different language that they used, along with a bit of rap, hip hop and what their general feelings were for their future.

It was a privilege to be involved and gave us some insight into how difficult life can be for some of these young people. Giving them a chance to show of their talents, have some fun and enjoy sharing a meal together proved to be a success for a great evening.

Learn and Lead Business Event- Westpac

Learn, lead and succeed was held at Turners Vineyard, Orange. We had spectacular views and a day full of great tips, ideas, opportunities to network, speakers and workshops. Westpac bank organised the event and there were about 100 women in attendance. It was a fabulous day with key learning's and the opportunity to learn about how other people have lived and succeeded.

To learn more about visit the Ruby connection

Mobility Challenge

Having a mobility challenge is certainly a wake up call. Myself and Mayor Reg Kidd became involved in the recent mobility challenge held here in Orange. We were told we would be blindfolded and need to make our way through a shopping centre, across the main street and then return back to the starting point. We were given a brief on how to use the vision stick to take note of changes underfoot and note noises that we heard.
After being blindfolded the challenge was on and it was not easy by any means. We had a person stay with us to help guide us when needed. When I had my eyes covered there was a real sense of fear when first starting to move. I hadn't realised how much we relied on our eyes.
Our other senses really came into play and touch and sound became the major senses we used. Getting out of the shopping centre had its challenges as the elevator was the mode of transport in getting to the next level. That in itself made you feel disorientated.
On arriving at the opening to Summer street the noise made it difficult to get orientated. Even though you could hear the traffic there was no real way of telling how close it was. When coming up to the traffic lights there were the markers on the footpath and the raised arrow and tone on the traffic signs which allowed you to know when it was clear to walk. The hard part here was hoping that the road users respected the signs themselves before you stepped out onto to the road.
Trying not to run into people and being guided by the walls along the footpath became tricky especially when business owners had signs along the walk way. It was quite a relief to return back to the starting point after having better understood the difficulties for blind people.
There were other disability challenges that other people who attended the day had to get through. For me it has been beneficial in gaining a greater understanding in my Councillor role when making decisions in our environment for our community.

Botanical Gardens Orange Food Service Luncheon

Orange Botanical Gardens is one of Orange City Councils spectacular places to visit. Wide open spaces, plenty of fauna, plants, artwork and history. It was an ideal place to thank the volunteers who give up their time to help community people in need to receive food services.

Meals on wheels is one such type of service where their are friendships made and important contact with people who are limited in their ability to move outside the home.

It was a pleasure to be a part of this luncheon and thank the many special people who make these services available to people in need.

Congratulations to our hard workers!