[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”] [et_pb_row admin_label=”row”] [et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]The homework club in 2019 will be running at the North Melbourne Community Centre every Monday during the school term for grades 3-6 [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]
Lunchtime Food Voucher Program The MACpack (at Mount Alexander College) lunchtime food voucher system experienced great success during its initial pilot phase. Beth Stewart-Wright conducted a student survey of those who accessed the service. The results of the survey revealed that of those students accessing the vouchers: 71 % of students had accessed the service more than once, 43% had accessed the service between 4-6 times, 14 % had accessed the service between 7-10 times, 21% had accessed the service more than 10 times, 21% of students had accessed the breakfast service, including the Hotham Mission provisions, 29% of students had siblings attending the high school, 43% were recipients of the food service parcels, 29% of children ran out of food regularly during the week, 57% often come to school without recess or lunch, 43% never come to school with lunch, 38% were of the opinion that their families would benefit from additional food support within the family home. Beth is now working closely with the school to link students experiencing such issues as family violence, homelessness, and alcohol and drug issues with service providers in the area for case management support.
We’ve now added pages on the Hotham Mission Food Programs and the Holiday programs — see the links under “Programs” above for more details
Hotham Mission Update Hotham Mission has been provisionally successful in two of three applications we made to SHARE: for the Kensington Estate Homework Club ($4800 for the program which was piloted earlier this month), and the Food Service to Mount Alexander College for ($6000)! (“Provisionally” means that this is pending the availability of funds in new financial year, which fluctuates for SHARE each year). Unfortunately we were unsuccessful for the grant for the Educational Support grant, which is one of our more successful and impactful programs. This was due to the fact that SHARE were inundated for requests this year, not due to the quality of the program or the application itself. Overall, this is an excellent outcome for Hotham Mission and is recognition of the work we are doing in our immediate community and great encouragement to continue this work.
(From Mohammed Isah): Dear Friends, Refugee Week is being celebrated from 14 – 20 June and this year’s theme is ‘With courage let us all combine’. The theme is particularly relevant, as Lentara UnitingCare continues to celebrate the courage of people seeking asylum living lawfully in the community while they await the outcome of their protection visa application. It also serves as a call to action for all Australians: how can we stand up against injustice and work together to make our country one that lives up to its national anthem as a nation with boundless plains to share? Lentara UnitingCare’s Asylum Seeker Program warmly invites you to join in Refugee Week celebrations. Please find attached details about a Concert for Compassion which may interest you. The celebration includes a chamber music concert, featuring the Saverio String Quartet. I hope you can join in Refugee Week celebrations by attending this event, which is raising much-needed funds to support our Asylum Seeker Welcome Centre in Brunswick. Kind regards, Mohammed Isah, Program Manager Asylum Seeker Program, UnitingCare Lentara
UnitingCare Hotham Mission Update: Camp for Kids UnitingCare Hotham Mission provided a significant donation to the Camp for Kids, conducted by Leading Senior Constable Nick Parissis in February this year. The Camp for Kids program was established in 1998, and is targeted at local upper primary students, particularly those whose parents can’t afford to pay for excursions. Feedback from local School Principals about this year’s camp is positive: “I strongly endorse this program … It promotes positive relationships between young people and police, instils an awareness of consequences of actions, identifies and promotes leadership qualities amongst young people, thus increasing their self confidence, and promotes teamwork and problem solving skills.” And “… we believe this initiative will further enhance the social skills of disadvantaged students and allow them to gain the opportunity to see the police as community members to be respected and not feared.” Similarly, feedback from students who attended the program is extremely positive, describing it as “awesome”, “cool”, “excellent”: “This camp you’ve organised has been an amazing experience, you have provided enjoyable activities such as searching for kangaroos, riding bikes and acting like policemen in various scenarios which was really fun, and I really hope you continue organising the camp. And I also forgot, I thank Jodie and Caroline for serving us mouthwatering food especially the pancakes and the gelati.” Leading Senior Constable Nick Parissis, from the North Melbourne police station, is the Community Liaison Officer and was awarded the Police and Community Multicultural Advisory Committee Multicultural Award for 2013, in recognition of his work within the North Melbourne multicultural community and particularly young people.
Hotham Mission Update: Are you interested in joining the Hotham Mission Board? UnitingCare Hotham Mission has a diverse group of members, able to envision how church and community can interact in a changing environment, and have the requisite blend of skills to assure governance and monitor compliance and delivery of the agreed strategy. There are currently two vacancies on the Board. The Board requires a mix of skills, and is particularly keen to add people with skills in the areas of law, marketing/ fundraising, or human resource management. If you are interested in joining the Board or would like to find out more about what the Board does speak to Gaye Champion, the Board Chair, or contact Greg Hill on ph 9326 8245.
Hotham Mission Update: DO YOU HAVE A VALID DRIVER’S LICENCE? DO YOU HAVE SPARE TIME ON FRIDAY MORNINGS? UnitingCare Hotham Mission is successfully running a weekly food service to students in need at Mount Alexander College (MAC). This service is managed by Beth Stewart-Wright, our Community Development Worker, and Alex Johnson, our (part-time) Food Services Co-ordinator. Each week Beth and Alex use the Melbourne City Council supplied van to collect food supplies from Food Bank and Second Bite. The food is then packaged into bags at the Elm Street office for delivery to students at MAC. We would love to have a volunteer help us with driving the van to collect the food, parcel it up, then drive the van and deliver the food to MAC. If you could spare one Friday morning per month, you will find this a really rewarding way to spend your Friday morning, and we would love to have your assistance. If you would like more information, or to register your details to volunteer, please phone Beth on 9328 8245 or send an email to community.worker@hothammission.org.au.
