As usual, everyone enjoyed catching up before the April General Meeting at the Community Hub at the Dock, Docklands. To facilitate connection, friendship and fellowship between members, Colleen (President) suggested that having different people on the registration table for each meeting would help new members to associate new names with new faces, thereby adding to their comfort and ease in the new group setting. She also made a special presentation to Ray D in recognition of the dedication and hard work over his three years as treasurer for the Club.The comprehensive list of tours and events for April includes Morning Melodies at Art Centre Melbourne, a Victorian Police Museum visit, the musical Jesus Christ Superstar at the Princess Theatre and the Kusama exhibition at NGV. These are in addition to regular activities like the Book Club’s reading and discussion of “The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn, the Friday Walking Group which will circle Albert Park Lake as well as cards, mahjong, bowling, craft and table tennis to name but a few. There is a delightful buzz around the shared table at the very popular end of the month Sunday Roast.
A Club Runner education session followed with Mel (Secretary and Web Officer) demonstrating some features of the system which make it easy for members to communicate with each other.
Following the tempting morning tea of home-made sweet and savoury options, club member Cheryl M, shared her experiences and insights from her 20-year history managing aged care facilities. She is proud to have initiated programs that enhanced the wellbeing, physical and psychological health of the residents, such as Montessori for the Aged, arts programs, traditionally home cooked menus familiar to the residents, consultation and collaboration with the residents about their needs and/or suggestions to enhance their lived experiences She has also recently joined a mentoring program for secondary students via the Raise Foundation. She was happy to answer the many questions from the audience who were keen to learn about the approaches to supporting young at-risk people through these mentoring programs in schools.
Out guest speaker, Jenny Leyva Deloryn then spoke about her work as a volunteer at PAWS Pet Therapy, with her dog Jay Jay. She began with an overview of her experiences volunteering in a range of settings with Jay Jay, including under NDIS, Camp Quality, aged care and Maximum Security Prison. Jay Jay had a period of special training to ensure he is reliable, engaging and safe in a range of environments. He wandered with interest around the room as Jenny spoke, happily engaging the audience with his quiet presence. Jenny responded to questions about the positive impact a therapy pet can have on vulnerable people, sometimes solely by their presence in the environment.
