What a great night for Alphington on Tuesday at Council.

Not only did Councilors agree to fund neighbourhood houses with a 3.5% minimum increase (as we advocated for) for the next 4 year agreement and to allow us to access to community grant program, but they also voted for the Alphington Bowls Club community proposal for a refurbishment rather than a knockdown rebuild of the clubhouse. It’s’ quite nice to think that our two classic yellow brick 1950s buildings will continue to be part of the urban fabric of Alphington and that they are supported to remain strong community assets, isn’t it? I am sure the bowls club will be able to do an amazing job reorganising the spaces inside to make the building meet modern day needs.

Thanks to everyone that advocated on behalf of our houses, and we are also super pleased for our friends at and associated with the bowls club who have invested a simliar amount of time, energy and advocacy into coming to a consensus on their preferred pathway forward.

Happy days.

Week 3 has arrived quickly and it is always exciting … as it is the week that lots of our programs start up. This term we have:

• Garden to Plate (seasonal cooking and lunch) on Monday from 11.30am - we still have places if you’d like to join in this week… it’s free but you need to book so we know the numbers

• Beginners Ukulele on Monday from 7pm, $5 weekly

• Active Adults (exercise with Jess from Phase1Performance) on Tuesday from 11am, $15 weekly (pay by the 8 week term)

• AAA Bowls on Wednesday from 10am, free but please let us know you are coming

• Crunch (lunch and an art activity) on Thursday from 12.30pm, $15 weekly or book by the term

• AAA Arts on Friday from 1pm, $5 weekly

Please note that our Community Yoga classes will start next week and our Thursday Supper Club will start up next term. These are both $5 weekly.

We also have our first Thrift Seekers Op Shop Tour coming up on Saturday 8 March, $5 to book in - but we’ll shout you a coffee along the way - so you’ll get a return on your investment! We’ll meet at the station and head off on a train adventure to the op shops in Abbotsford and North Richmond. It will be lots of fun!

You can book in to all our programs on our website here.

Also, please read the post below … we’re asking anyone so inclined to contact the Yarra Councillors (contact details in the post) to ask them to support option 4 (or at least option 2) in relation to the Yarra Neighbourhood House funding decision that is going to a vote this Tuesday evening at Council - although we’ve already done lots of lobbying to Councillors we’d love you - our community - to also add your voice to our call for 3.5% funding increases (or CPI whichever is greater) to ensure that we don’t go backwards …or in other words to ensure that funding matches our projected costs over the next 4 years. Read on to find out more …

And after that pitch, a lighter note! Put the Alphington Show in your diary, Saturday 29 March -11am-2pm, we’ve got the pony rides coming back, we’re sourcing a lolly jar for guess the lollies, we’re looking forward to the crazy Alphington Dog Show at 1pm (start teaching your pooch some tricks!) and of course all the entries into the Show itself - start brushing up your cooking - homemade bread, chocolate cakes, biscuits, jams, preserves, and your gardening - garden produce, flowers, floral arrangements and your art and craft - knitting, crochet, sewing … and more! Such a lovely community event!!! We hope you can be part of it.

And I hope you have a lovely week. See you soon.

Cheers Leanne

This Tuesday, 11 February, Yarra City Council will vote on the next four-year funding agreement for the nine City of Yarra Neighbourhood Houses (which includes us). With rising costs due to inflation and cost-of-living increases, we have advocating (since last year you probably remember from previous posts) for annual funding increases of 3.5% (or CPI, whichever is higher).

Neighbourhood Houses operate incredibly efficiently, delivering significant social value far beyond the funding we receive. However, without funding increases that match our actual costs, we risk losing services and programs because we can no long afford to employ the staff run them.

On Tuesday 11 February, Yarra Council is considering four options:

• Option 1 (Recommended by Council Officers): Funding increases tied to the annual rate cap.

• Option 2 (Our Second Preference): Annual increases of 3.5% (or CPI, whichever is higher) – this is what Neighbourhood Houses need to stay sustainable.

• Option 4 (Our Preferred Option): Annual increases of 3.5% or CPI, whichever is higher and allowing Neighbourhood Houses access to apply for Yarra’s Community Grants Program.

We need your urgent help to ensure elected Councillors hear the voice of the community and support either Option 4 (ideally) or Option 2.

How You Can Help

1. Email Yarra Councillors today and urge them to support Option 4 or 2. It will only take you a couple of minutes and could make a big difference for us.

2. Request to speak at the Council meeting on Tuesday evening to show your support. You can do so at this link: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90801756/e8cb6a47e69d

Want to know more? Read the Council Papers here (from page 203): https://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/about-us/committees-meetings-and-minutes/council-meeting-11-february-2025

Councillor emails (so you can easily send a supportive email)

Sharon.Harrison@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Stephen.Jolly@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Edward.Crossland@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Evangeline.Aston@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Meca.Ho@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Kenneth.Gomez@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Sophie.Wade@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Andrew.Davies@yarracity.vic.gov.au
Sarah.McKenzie@yarracity.vic.gov.au (Sarah is the Councillor in our ward).
 

Gosh … wasn’t Sunday hot! And stormy! I hope everyone is managing to look after themselves through this heatwave.

If you need tips and advice both Darebin and Yarra Council have done lots of work thinking about heatwave planning and have some excellent resources on their websites. If you need a hand give us a call on Monday or Tuesday - we are more than happy to think about and action practical ways that we could help you if we can.

It was lovely to catch up with people throughout the last week - we had people dropping past to say hello, people calling and emailing and had a great start back on Wednesday for Playgroup and then on Friday with Community Lunch. Daniel also started up his music lessons and some of our other music and dance programs were back up and running too.

This week Clare will be starting up her Artful Painting and Drawing classes - so book in if you are keen. CWA has their meeting on Monday night at 7.30pm at the Gleeson Centre in Darebin Parklands (end of Separation Street). Such a great group to join if you like hanging out with action oriented women and being a part of cooking, craft or community/social justice activities. And Yoyo is back from celebrating Chinese New Year with her family in China (lucky thing) … so we’ll be excited that her mum Juliette will have the milkbar back open - just in time for a sneaky icy pole or two … (we missed her over summer) … and Yoyo of course will be starting up her violin lessons for the year.

In the office we’ve got one more week of planning and organising - wrangling the garden back into shape, increasing publicity for new programs and events, and finishing off tidying the Community Shed after our major reorganise at the end of last year.

Then next week we’ll be fully launching into things for 2025. Which will be great!

I hope you can take it easy the next day or two in the heat. Don’t forget to check in with your neighbours, friends and family to make sure they are okay too. And hopefully we’ll see you soon.

Also … don’t stop reading here … please check out the articles below about Toy Library and a possible new Playgroup for nonnas and nonnos … we have such great things on and such a super generous and connected community around us!

Cheers

Leanne

Did you know that Alphington Community Centre began as a support service for mums and families? Started by a group of mums it originally ran out of Alphington Primary School and offered serviced like a babysitting club and a toy library - the latter of which still runs today.

In our Toy Library you will find some of the fabulous old puzzles and wooden toys from the 1980s, along with a whole host of newer toys that are suitable for children from 3 months through to primary school.

Our Toy Library costs $45 a year +GST to join - and you can borrow multiple toys every week of school term (that’s 40 weeks a year). Our Toy Library is fully online - so you can book your toys from the convenience of your loungeroom at home, and then pop past on a Tuesday afternoon or a Wednesday morning (when Playgroup is on) to return and collect your toys.

We look forward to welcoming new families to our Toy Library this year - and catching up with our exist Toy Library families as they pop in over the coming weeks.

Join our Toy Library here.