Hi Leanne here. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks with lots of new things happening at ACC.

Last week our Women in the Shed and AAA Bowls programs started up for the term. It was lovely to welcome new faces and people who have been along before. Women in the Shed is full but we always welcome people to AAA Bowls - if you know anyone who might be keen! It is a wonderful program that is led by Jill and supported by a team of generous volunteers from Alphington Bowls Club.

On Wednesday last week we started up our Podcasting 101 course. And there is still 1 spot available - we can catch you up - it is not too late. We have Declan Fay teaching the course. He has an amazing wealth of knowledge in this field, having worked extensively in comedy and radio and on a variety of podcasts including writing the narrative podcast Crossbread and he is a fabulous teacher and story teller. If you are interested you can book in here.

Our community mornings on Fridays are going great - we have a regular crew of gardeners working with Clare to keep our grounds shipshape and productive - and we have had an influx of crafters this month from GenU - it has been wonderful to connect up our organisations more and also to meet some lovely and enthusiastic new knitters, crocheters and stitchers. In the afternoons our AAA Arts group is growing and evolving with Clare leading the way and Hazel and Corrado volunteering weekly.

Speaking of which, our partnership with CWA Alphington has been super - we had sausage rolls and chocolate chip biscuits for morning tea last week - delicious!

In addition to this we have a new Men’s Support Group running on Monday evenings in the Shed and Yoyo in building up her Violin classes. She is currently studying at VCA and is just lovely if you think violin is your thing! If you are interested in either of these please don’t hesitate to email us info@alphington.org.au.

Over the last two weekends we’ve also run two workshops - Recycled Timber Design and PIllow Talk. We trust everyone that attended had a great time and walked away with new skills and knowledge. It is fabulous when local community members come along and share their skills and talents with the community!

We’re also busy working with the Yarra Neighbourhood Houses and Yarra Council on a Climate Change Resilience Plan - similiar to the one we did with Darebin a few years ago. Connecting our community, responding quickly to need, making sure the most vulnerable are looked after and out for, and equipping people with skills and knowledge - these are all the bread and butter things that neighbourhood houses do every day - and our adaptive, flexible and responsive framework will serve our community well as we start to collectively consider the impacts of a changing climate, whether that be more hotter days, more severe weather events etc.

This week Kalimna and I will be out of the office from Wednesday afternoon through to Friday as we are off to the annual Neighbourhood Houses Victoria conference. Lee will be here Wednesday afternoon and Clare will be here from 9.30am-3pm on Thursday and Friday to keep things going.

So finally … we’ll start our programming for next semester soon. If you have any ideas we’d love to hear from you! Send us a email or give Leanne a call. And we hope you have a great week!