At ACC we try to offer a wide range of opportunities for people to meet their neighbours, to make friends in the community, and to build, explore and share their skills and knowledge.

We run a number of activities that are self-led or run by a generous volunteer. These include Czech and Slovak Playgroup, Ukulele, Line Dancing and the like. For these programs we ask all attendees to contribute $5 per week (no matter how long the session lasts) to keep the lights on and the heater heating etc.

We also support a number of micro-businesses that provide services that fit in with our programming goals. Small business owners/sole traders running these programs set their own fees and we support them with low room hire rates (again $5 per attendee) and publicity. These programs include Jane’s Group Harp, Cat’s Lego Club and Matthew’s Guitar Lessons (about to start up).

Then we run a number of tutored programs, where we spread a small bucket of money that comes from Darebin Council and Yarra Council as widely as possible, prioritising community building and community need.

In the first half of 2021 we will fully subsidise Jill to run our very successful and long-standing AAA Bowls program (a partnership with Alphington Bowls Club) and Jenny to oversee our Friday community morning program that includes Community Craft, Gardening Group and Morning Tea on the Corner.

Then with the remaining program funding we will partially subsidising our tutored/supervised Community Shed sessions.

These programs will cost $5 per hour per participant (still a bargain) and we’ll need a minimum of 6 people booked in by the term for them to run.

Of course, we also tap into other funding where ever possible. We always have our eyes open and our ears to the ground … last year we partnered with MyTime to support our Peer Support Playgroup for example. And we get one-off grants from wonderful community support organisations such as Clifton Hill/North Fitzroy Community Bank who have previously provided funding for our Community Lunches and our Gardening Group … and this coming year will be supporting our History Group (more to come on this).

Our full program for 2021 will be out next week, and we’ll be featuring some of the new things on offer at ACC (and some old favourites as well) in our newsletter in coming weeks (with the links to book in).

We hope you can find something that you will enjoy being part of, and we look forward to seeing you onsite in the new year. Our programming will resume in the first week of February.

At ACC we are committed to demonstrating and promoting a lighter footprint on the earth as best we can. And we were absolutely delighted to be the recipients of a Yarra Valley Water grant - in the form of a plumber - who has been working his way around our centre improving our water efficiency last week and this week.

He’s changed taps in the kitchen and cisterns in the bathrooms - mostly invisible changes that make a difference to how much water we use, as well as installing a very visible new water tank to capture the rainwater from the roof of the community shed … so that we can water our community garden in a more sustainable way.

We’re pretty excited and very thankful to Yarra Valley Water. And we’re looking forward to now remodelling our community raised garden beds so that our gardening group can start growing leafy greens and other food crops that contribute to local food production and support things like low food mile cooking programs and community food relief.

Our new water tank mid installation …

Our fruit trees are full of fruit and we’ve got lots of herbs growing in our garden this year. We are hoping that with your help we can keep them alive and thriving through the summer holidays when we are closed.

If you live close by, will be home in January, and wouldn’t mind popping past once or twice please let us know, and we’ll add you to our watering roster.

We are so fortunate to have so many lovely volunteers involved in Alphington Community Centre. Thanks in advance!

After the year we’ve had, we’re feeling pretty lucky that we’ve been able to test run ‘morning tea on the corner’ over the last few weeks. This week we’re looking forward to our 4th and final Friday morning tea for the year.

To mark the occasion we’ll be firing up the new bbq and giving our new outdoor kitchen a workout … to cook up the rest of the fancy Brenta sausages leftover from the market on Saturday.

And we’ll throw in a mince tart and some shortbread with your cup of tea or coffee … a soft introduction to the fast approaching Christmas season.

So if you’d like to pop past for a bbq-y Christmas-y morning tea/early lunch and a chat, we’ll see you from 11.30am. And if you’d like to come earlier you are most welcome to join in crafty activities inside and gardening activities outside from 10am.

We are anticipating keeping our Friday community mornings with morning tea running next year (we’ll be back on deck after Australia Day). So if you can’t make it this week pop it in your diary for next year. And we’ll see you then!

Our first morning tea on the corner was lovely. And we plan to host one each week at 11:30am until we close for Christmas holidays.

This Friday Leanne made fresh scones for the occasion using the tried and true CWA recipe. And we set up some umbrellas so people could enjoy a seat in the shade.

Blind date with a Book was out, Craftberry Jam jars were available to collect and a new Honestly letter to the neighbourhood was on the window round the corner. .

If you are keen to reconnect after lockdown, Friday morning at ACC might be just what you are looking for! Maybe we’ll see you this coming Friday? 10am for activities. 11.30 for a cuppa and a chat.