We were excited to have Jodie and Lee from the Community Bank on Queens Parade visit.

Their bank really has an amazing community investment model and as a very small scale community organisation, we are exceedingly grateful for it and them … and for their support.

They have helped us with so many programs over the years … including subsidising community lunch costs, helping us support our peer support playgroup families and providing some funding for plants and equipment for our community garden program. Most recently they provided some seed funding that has enabled us to get our community podcasting studio up and running.

Now we’re hoping they’ll come back and make a podcast themselves one day soon (when we know what we are doing a little more…).

Thanks Clifton Hill/North Fitzroy Community Bank. We look forward to working with you into the future. You rock. Really.

Jodie, Lee, Suzanne and Leanne checking out the podcasting studio and equipment.

Did you collect one of these posters last year during lockdown? The Community Bank helped us fund ‘Happiness’ - this mental health project.

Kalimna popped in to visit our line dancers last week whilst they were holding their Biggest Morning Tea event - as you probably already know this is a morning tea to raise money for the Cancer Council, to support those impacted by cancer.

Around 20-30 lovely locals come together each week on a Wednesday morning from 10am down at the Alphington Scout Hall to line dance and then share a cuppa and a chat. It is a real community in and of itself. We drop in and see them every now and then, and also support Shirley behind the scenes (the dynamo behind it all) as she seamlessly organises the whole shebang.

She’s a star.

And anyway … lucky Kalimna went along. Because not only were the dancers happy to give her a demo, they were ALSO happy to do so in fancy dress. How fun - I think it should be a lifegoal for everyone to be part of a group that gets together in fancy dress for special occasions! Why not right?

Thanks Shirley, Thanks Kalimna. Thanks enthusiastic line dancing locals.

Did you know that we have a Toy Library at ACC? We’re noticing that there are increased numbers of people around the neighbourhood living a life that is more family friendly with flexible hours and working from home options. And as a result we’re also noticing that our Toy Library use is growing every week. We’ve welcomed at least 10 new families to the Toy Library over the last month or two and it is so wonderful to think that all those great toys that have been carefully collected and lovingly cared for, for so many years, are getting an outing!

If you know any young families who might like to access a wide range of toys in a sustainable way (ie. borrowing them for up to a month rather than buying them) then point them in our direction.

The Alphington Toy Library costs $30 per year to join (a bargain). Families can borrow up to 4 toys at a time. And we have loads of toys to borrow!

We’re also building up some toy packs that can be booked online and collected any time we are open - ideal for families that can’t pop in and browse themselves. Working families can keep an eye out for these - coming any day now!

Our Toy Library is generally open on Wednesday mornings from 10am-12pm. The opening time coincides with Playtime in the Garden - so you can borrow toys and then also hang out here enjoying our sandpit and some outside craft activities (set up weekly by Lee).

Click here to find out more and/or to join up. Or pop past on a Wednesday to see if it is for you!

Did you know that Yarra and Darebin have a long standing community relationship along with a formal partnership with the municipality of Baucau in Timor-Leste?

The friendship was established whilst Timor-Leste was fighting for independence back in the 1990s. And it has endured over time. For many years our Councils funded a neighbourhood house in the city of Baucau. This was a wonderful and vital resource for women, children and the broader community as the country rebuilt infrastructure and resources after the devastation caused by the fight for independence. And although the house itself shut down a few years ago, it seeded a number of enduring community organisations - and enabled a number of strong and active local women (in particular, but some men also) to build a platform and profile within the Baucau municipal government.

Darebin and Yarra Councils continue their relationship with Baucau today, and still support grassroots activities via the community friendship group - Friends of Baucau. Over the years this local community group (that meets monthly in Darebin and Yarra) has continued to advocate for the formal municipal partnership, fundraise for on-ground community initiatives and build strong enduring and trusted relationships in Baucau. The focus recently has been on empowering women, supporting education and helping communities build best practise for sustainable agriculture. In the last few years they encouraged Darebin’s neighbourhood houses to visit Baucau (I was lucky enough to go on this trip) to meet like-minded active women’s organisations over there and think about how we could build and grow partnerships at the grassroots level.

So with this personal connection, it really has been devastating to see and hear about the impacts of the recent cyclone and associated flooding on the community over there. Timor-Leste is the poorest country in our region, with people living on less than $1 a day.

And if you are living at or below the poverty line like this, losing your house, your possessions, your bed and/or your crops is devastatingly life changing - and not just immediately, but for many years to come.

So … Friends of Baucau has set up a Give Now page, to support a trusted local community organisation to help out locals across the Baucau municipality at this time.

The funding will help families buy the basics to continue to survive such as food, beds etc. But also help them replant crops. It will also give those most in need 2 goats to grow and sell, helping them to rebuild their ability to self-sustain with dignity once again.

If you’d like to contribute you can find out more here. If you’d like more information about Friends of Baucau you can check them out on Facebook here.

Damage to houses in the municipality of Baucau.

Hi everyone, we’re back on deck today (Monday). We hope you had a lovely Easter and school break. If you sent enquiries through over the holidays that we haven’t answered already, Kalimna will get back to you tomorrow (Tuesday) when she’s in the office.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be working on some of the bigger picture things - including working with Lee on our next feature artist for the Alphington Neighbourhood Gallery (on the fence), finalising the podcast studio, and getting the raised gardens up and running (I need to head out to Bulleen Art and Garden for a dwarf lime for the centre of the new round garden as a starting point). Also I need to line up a time with Darebin Council to deliver some fresh tanbark for the front garden … and I must order the new cubby house, deck and sandpit to complete the toddler play space out there as well.

Yikes, I feel busy already! We’ve got lots of exciting new plans for term 2 and we’re looking forward to sharing them with you over the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

And don’t forget that we have morning tea on the corner every Friday at 11.30am. Come along for a cuppa and cake and chat. We’d love to see you.

Join us for morning tea on the corner every Friday morning from 11.30am.