annual report 2015/2016 est.1978 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY, VISION, MISSION.......................................................................................................................... 1 SPECIAL THANKS................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 CHAIR’S REPORT.................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 OUR ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE................................................................................................................................................... 5 OUR BOARD.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 THE YEAR IN NUMBERS....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT........................................................................................................................................................... 8 AGED CARE SERVICES......................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) Report....................................................................................................................... 11 Dementia Carers Support Group Report..........................................................................................................................13 Volunteer Home Visitors Report (VHV) Report................................................................................................................14 Aged Care Summary Statistical Information...................................................................................................................16 Social Inclusion Groups......................................................................................................................................................17 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.............................................................................................................................................................. 18 Community and Cultural Development Report ...............................................................................................................19 Activities ............................................................................................................................................................................19 Groups ................................................................................................................................................................................21 Events .................................................................................................................................................................................22 Auspice Groups ..................................................................................................................................................................24 Science At The Local ..........................................................................................................................................................22 Events .................................................................................................................................................................................22 Auspice Groups ..................................................................................................................................................................24 Emergency Food Relief Statistical Information ...............................................................................................................26 As The Smoke Clears Report.............................................................................................................................................27 The Harwood Method Report ............................................................................................................................................28 Timebanking Service .........................................................................................................................................................29 Statistical Information ......................................................................................................................................................32 FOCUS ON FAMILIES . .........................................................................................................................................................................32 Tanderra OOSH Service ....................................................................................................................................................33 RESEARCH ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 FINANCIALS ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 40 VOLUNTEERS ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Acknowledgement of Country Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative Ltd (SNCC), acknowledges that we work on the traditional lands of the Darug and Gundungurra peoples and pay respect to the strength capacity and resilience of past and present Aboriginal people in this region. Our Vision We strive for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive. Our Mission Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative Ltd is a community managed organisation, linking people, resources and ideas. SNCC applies the principles of social justice to the wellbeing of the community. Government Funding Bodies Supported by Australian Government, Department of Social Services Supported by the Australian Government, Department of Health Commonwealth Home Support Programme (initiative of the Australian Government, Department of Health) Supported by NSW Government, Education & Communities Supported by NSW Government, Family & Community Services Supported by NSW Government, Premier & Cabinet Supported by HACC, Home and Community Care (funded by the Australian Government, Department of Social Services) Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 3 SPECIAL THANKS Education Organisations Macquarie University TAFE Outreach Western Sydney Institute TAFE - Work Placement Students: Tanya Pendani, Olivia Sperzel Western Sydney University-students from Social Engagement & Leadership Programme Special thanks and acknowledgement to all SNCC partnerships, collaborators and supporters. Blue Fringe Community Supporters Community Organisations Erika Kochanski John Hockney Kelda Simons Ramon Loyola WSI TAFE - Wentworth Falls Campus Anglicare Community Care Services Association of Childrens Welfare Agencies (ACWA) Blue Mountains Community Care Forum Blue Mountains Family Support Blue Mountains Food Services Blue Mountains Pathfinders, SDA Church Blue Mountains Women’s Health & Resource Centre Catholic Care Social Services Connecting Carers NSW Council on the Ageing (COTA) NSW Gateway Family Services GREAT Community Transport Local Community Services Association (LCSA) Mid Mountains Youth Centre Mountains Community Resource Network (MCRN) Mountains Outreach Community Service (MOCS) Mountains Youth Services Team (MYST) Parramatta Leisure Club Psychiatric Rehabilitation Australia, Westclub Penrith Rotary Blue Mountains Salvation Army Springwood Community Arts Centre Springwood Presbyterian Church Springwood Red Cross Springwood Uniting Care Springwood Uniting Church St Columba’s Catholic College Stronger Families Alliance Vale Street Centre Blue Fringe Financial Partners Angelika Weise Bendigo Bank Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre Blue Mountains City Council Blue Mountains Food Services Gleebooks Blackheath Hotel Blue IndieMosh Publishing Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre Inc Lions Club Winmalee Megalong Books Mountain Heritage Mt Vic Flicks Schizophrenia Fellowship NSW Senator Doug Cameron Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative Ltd Trish Doyle MP Blue Fringe Partners Aftercare Lithgow/Upper Blue Mountains Aftercare Lower Blue Mountains/Springwood Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre Inc Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative Ltd The Blue Fringe Committee Vale Street Centre Melanie van Kessel Ranya Sharara Consultants Amanda O’Bryan, Creative Queen Bees Beverley Moreman, Data Diction Dale Reardon, DRCS Ray Bennett, Com Management Cleaning Services Barbara Green 4 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Emergency Food Relief Partners Anytime Gym Springwood Curves Springwood Lloyds SUPA IGA Springwood, weekly donations from Community Members SDA Church, Warrimoo Government Organisations Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing Australian Government, Department of Social Services NSW Government, Education & Communities NSW Government, Family and Community Services Government Funding Bodies Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing Australian Government, Department of Social Services NSW Government, Education & Communities NSW Government, Family & Community Services NSW Premier & Cabinet Home and Community Care (HACC) Government Organisations Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) Blue Mountains City Council Blue Mountains City Libraries Blue Mountains Councillor, Fell Blue Mountains Councillor, Hollywood Blue Mountains Local Area Command Blue Mountains Mayor, Mark Greenhill Centrelink Commonwealth Respite & Carelink Centre Fire and Emergency Services Louise Markus, MP (Federal Member for Macquarie) Ministry of Police & Emergency Services, NSW National Parks & Wildlife Discovery Rangers Nepean Area School Counsellors NSW Health Penrith City Council Rural Fire Services Senator Doug Cameron (Federal electorate of Macquarie) State Emergency Services Sydney West Area Health Service Trish Doyle, Member for Blue Mountains Employment Organisations Nova Employment-Tranistion to Work Programme Local Business Support Anytime Fitness, Springwood Bendigo Bank Blue Mountains Gazette Caitlin Hughes of Hughes Studio Cole Barrett, Photographer Honey Gem Nursery Jenny Mosher LKM Dance Studio Mountain Mist Florist NRMA Springwood Chamber of Commerce Springwood Curves Springwood Florist, weekly flowers for Centre Springwood Newsagency, weekly newspapers for Centre Springwood Sports Club The Turning Page Bookshop Westpac Bank Local Schools & Children Care Centres Carinya Neighbourhood Children’s Centre Inc. Ellison Primary School Faulconbridge Public School Rainbow Preschool Springwood High School Springwood Public School St Thomas Aquinas Primary School Winmalee High School Winmalee Public School Neighbourhood Centres Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre (BANC) Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre Inc. (KNC) Lithgow Information & Neighbourhood Centre (LINC) Lower Mountains Neighbourhood Centre (LMNC) Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre (MMNC) Nepean Community & Neighbourhood Services (NCNS) Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre (WNC) Research Advisory Committee Members Disability Advocate, Korey Gunnis Macquarie University Ministry of Police & Emergency Services Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District Research Partners Blue Mountains City Council, Prue Hardgrove Charles Sturt University, Dr Sarah Redshaw Charles Sturt University, Dr Val Ingham Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre Inc., Kath Harrison Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 5 CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT ORGANISATIONAL CHART The end of the 2015/2016 financial year marks Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative Ltd’s (SNCC) first six months in our new ‘office home’ for the whole team, apart from Tanderra’s location which remains situated nearby on Raymond Road. The financial year saw considerable organisational improvements in structure, policy and governance. This aligns with our long term planning which will continue to be rolled out over the next 5 years. BOARD On behalf of our Co-operative members and the Board, I would like to express gratitude to SNCC management and staff, with particular thanks to all our volunteers. They have responded to the challenges that the changes presented in a professional and dedicated manner. EXECUTIVE OFFICER [email protected] Further detail on SNCC organisational changes and progress made in the 2015/2016 financial year is covered in our Executive Officer’s report and the financial update is covered in our Treasurer’s report. I wish to focus on the Co-operative’s future. TANDERRA Significant research has increased the Board’s depth in understanding around our own corporate entity. The value of the co-operative model has been identified; its role in the community and its value to its member. The natural ‘DNA’ of a co-operative is strength through membership which has at its ‘grass roots’, the breadth and diversity of real community representation. The advantage of community membership is borne out through: economic engagement; education; information exchange and democratic self-determination which reflect the standard co-operative principles. In early 2016, the Board adopted an approach for ‘Transitioning to the Future’ and drew up an accompanying concept plan. A proportion of our existing service users will likely become client directed care package users. These clients will have considerable power, particularly in their future ability to demand diversity in the choice of services and the manner in which those services are delivered. FINANCE CO-ORDINATOR [email protected] EXECUTIVE SUPPORT CO-ORDINATOR SNR COMMUNITY PROJECT WORKER + PROJECT WORKER VOLUNTEER HOME VISITORS CO-ORDINATOR COMMUNITY VISITORS SCHEME CO-ORDINATOR CO-ORDINATOR + PERMANENT CHILD CARE ASSISTANTS executivesupport @sncc.org.au [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] SUZANNE ALLNUT SIMONE KNOX ANNALISA MOORE [email protected] VHV VOLUNTEERS CVS VOLUNTEERS CASUAL ASSISTANTS A way of ascertaining community needs on a regular basis is through increased engagement with co-operative membership and community conversations. This can lead to a broader understanding of the types of services required and awareness concerning cost of delivery. I am pleased to inform our co-operative members that SNCC is tracking well both in terms of financial sustainability and implementing a new strategic concept. This is designed specifically to meet the future needs of our co-operative within an increasingly competitive environment while benefiting members. The primary purpose for a shift in direction is to meet the underlying needs of our community and to grow a more solid organisation that has a flourishing, active co-operative membership. From a planning point of view, it has been a complex year and I thank the Board for their hard work. Our plans and efforts have the capacity to inspire a significant increase in SNCC’s visibility, good-will within our community and an organisation widely accepted as being a vital resource with a bright and vibrant future. Keith J. Dowling | Chairperson 6 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive CENTRE VOLUNTEERS Including Projects & Timebanking Volunteers CURRENT STAFF COMMUNITY VISITORS SCHEME CO-ORDINATOR Jo Newton EXECUTIVE OFFICER Toni Quigley EXECUTIVE SUPPORT CO-ORDINATOR Lesley Lewis FINANCE CO-ORDINATOR Meg Keith PROJECT WORKER Olivia Sperzel SENIOR COMMUNITY PROJECT WORKER Imelda Eams (Commenced 08/16) VOLUNTEER HOME VISITORS CO-ORDINATOR Liz Murphy (Commenced 10/16) PREVIOUS STAFF COMMUNITY & CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT CO-ORDINATOR Phobe Coyne* Michael Niblett* FINANCE CO-ORDINATOR Kay Spriggs** OPERATIONS CO-ORDINATOR Celia Lotus* VOLUNTEER HOME VISITORS CO-ORDINATOR Anne Snowdon** CHILD CARE ASSISTANT Jacqueline Weston-Cole* * Partial Year Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive ** Full Year Rachel Bemmer Isobel Bowman Ellyn Charman Madison Comacho Clare Eisenhuth Brittany Hitchcok-Bell Matthew Ruki Liz Perfect (art teacher) YARD MAINTENANCE VOLUNTEERS Josiah Bamfer Tim Quinn Smyth Colin Williams 7 OUR BOARD THE YEAR IN NUMBERS Director Director Keith Dowling Tracy Kane-White Director Director Alan Crooks Sharon Payne Director THE SNCC BOARD Director 6 5 Staff (9 permanent, 10 casual) 19 23 Director Volunteers 103 104 Instances of Service 38,936 38,369 Activities 8,359 12,603 Assisted Referrals 288 not reported Community Volunteer Scheme Visits 362 495 Dementia Carers Group 174 182 Emails, Telephone calls, Drop-in-Lounge etc. 6592 4420 Emergency Food Relief 478 reported separately Emergency Food Relief (Fresh Food) 160 not available Events 2572 3583 Tanderra OOSH bookings 18,854 16,311 Timebanking 361 not reported Volunteer Home Visits 736 775 Total Instances of Service 38,936 38,369 SNCC Website page views 32,748 SNCC Facebook promotional posts & page views 2,704 SNCC Newsletters 700 SNCC Posters & Flyers 2,200 Michael Niblett* * Partial Year OUR SERVICE STRUCTURE Instances Of Service By Category 2014 / 2015 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TIMEBANKING 2015 / 2016 AGED CARE SERVICE AREAS FOCUS ON FAMILIES STAFF 6 SNCC SERVICE STRUCTURE RESEARCH 2014 / 2015 Service Areas Director Tracey Willow 2015 / 2016 Cecily Michaels* Margaret Buchanan* Director Allen Laird TOTAL NUMBER OF 19 5 23 VOLUNTEERS 103 104 VOLUNTEERS TOTAL INSTANCES OF SERVICE 38,936 38,369 8 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 9 EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT To begin my report, I would like to acknowledge that we live and work on the land of Traditional Owners, the Darug and Gundungurra peoples. I also pay respect to their Elders past and present. I would like to thank everyone associated with SNCC – members of the Board, the staff, our many volunteers and the community who support us all in our work. Your commitment and continued involvement is much appreciated and enables us to continue to be connected and effective in the services that we provide. The last year has been one of many changes. Our move, in December 2015, has enabled us to come together in one space – the Blue Mountains Theatre & Community Hub in Springwood. We are located upstairs for the Neighbourhood Centre and downstairs, for our Co-operative offices. This division of services, was due to lack of space. However, after extensive negotiations with the Blue Mountains City Council our Co-operative offices in the Undercroft of the Hub were ready. We moved prior to Christmas 2015, the sense of relief felt by all was palpable and we started 2016 with renewed enthusiasm and commitment to support our community which has been so patient, following us around our three different homes. We would like to thank everyone who supported us in this chapter of the SNCC story. SNCC welcomed Phoebe Coyne to the position of Community & Cultural Development worker, Lesley Lewis to the role of Executive Support Co-ordinator and Olivia Sperzel as a Project Support Worker. We said goodbye to Celia Lotus, Operations Co-ordinator who with great patience and commitment supported the move to the Neighbourhood Centre and Phoebe Coyne who contributed to the Harwood process (community conversations), Blue Fringe, Year of Digital Inclusion and SNCC’s groups & activities. We thank them both for their contribution and wish them well in their new roles. The wonderful support from our team of over 100 volunteers who support our operations allows SNCC to function so effectively and assists us in all aspects of our service provision. Identifying the skills and interests of our reception volunteers has ensured that the information and referral is the most up to date and the support for our data collection and reporting requirements to all of our funding bodies is of a very high standard. Our system for accessing information is available online through SNCC’s website, Facebook and various booklets, flyers and general information notices. Our reception volunteers also ensure that visitors can relax with a coffee or tea, read the newspapers, use the internet or just chat in a warm and inviting atmosphere. Our reception volunteers are positive in their interaction with visitors which exemplifies the values of our service. Other volunteers support Community Visitors Scheme, Volunteer Home Visitors, the Talking Gazette, Community Development and as members of the SNCC Board. Our support; also comes from the broader community, our State and Federal MP’s, Blue Mountains City Council, local businesses and community groups and other community sector organisations. This support and involvement can include assisting us with publicity, fundraising, the provision of various resources and advice, all of which enables us to stay relevant to our community. Services provided by organisations such as neighbourhood centres are under review and have been for some time. Changes to the delivery of aged care services have seen the introduction of My Aged Care which is the point of contact for older people seeking aged care services. The Home and Community Care programme which funded the Volunteer Home Visitors service has been phased out and is now part of the Commonwealth Home Support programme. New processes for funding and reporting requirements have been established which led to SNCC undergoing the Aged Care Quality Assurance Agency Audit. The Audit covered the 18 Community Care Common Standards and resulted in a 100% compliance. This certification indicates the high level of service delivery for the Springwood Volunteer Home Visitors Scheme and our HACC funded social support. I would like to acknowledge all staff at SNCC for their ongoing commitment to working with their community as part of the team and striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive. It is an immense pleasure to be part of such a professional, enthusiastic and supportive group of people. Thank you. Another area of reform being conducted by NSW Department of Family & Community Services (FaCS) is the Community Builders renewable funding. This is the core funding for the Neighbourhood Centre. The focus of these reforms is providing for very specific groups, vulnerable children and families. The reform process has been underway for some time and SNCC, along with other members of the Blue Mountains Lithgow Integrated Neighbourhood Network (BLINN), has been working to make strong representation to our local member and the Department about the intrinsic value of generalist services and their capacity to support the groups identified. We are also developing stronger partnerships with numerous organisations to provide targeted services to our community. SNCC continues to recognise the value of community research to support its service provision. As such, we were joint partners in the “BSafe” (Blue Mountains Sustainable Approaches to Fire and Emergencies) report which was funded by the NSW Government under the Community Resilience Innovation programme. The report was launched by the Minister for Emergency Services, the Hon. David Elliott, on 17 June 2016. Other members of the partnership were: Dr Sarah Redshaw, Research Associate, Charles Sturt University, Dr Valerie Ingham, Senior Lecturer in Emergency Management, Charles Sturt University and Kath Harrison, General Manager, Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre Inc. The aim of the BSafe report was to evaluate the three preparedness programmes which had been rolled out across the Blue Mountains, post 2013 bushfires. This again reflects the manner in which community groups, from different sectors, can work together to deliver programmes. These programmes are transferable & sustainable when part of the responsibility of Neighbourhood Centres. The recommendations from the findings of this research are included in this Annual Report. SNCC has worked assiduously over the past years to ensure that the systems and infrastructure which supports all of our services and programme delivery are meeting the highest level of compliance and quality. As such, we have developed our Data Management System to work across all of our programmes. This ensures the best possible reporting mechanism to our funding bodies as well as providing any statistical information required by SNCC to support its service delivery. Coupled with a successful review of our Policies & Procedures, our communication and IT systems means that staff are well supported. At this time, we also need to look to the future. As mentioned previously, we are entering a period of considerable restructuring and change. Reforms in Aged Care, Disability and the Community Builders are well underway and much is based on client directed care. SNCC needs to take this into consideration as reforms will mean higher costs, more competition and potentially a change in the way funding is delivered. It is for this reason that SNCC will need to review the scope and nature of delivery programmes and to find ways to ensure its sustainability. Toni Quigley | Executive Officer 10 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 11 aged care services COMMUNITY VISITORS SCHEME (CVS) SERVICE OBJECTIVES The main objective of the Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) is to enhance the lives of socially isolated older people living in the community. CVS recipients reside in government subsidised aged care facilities or live in their own home and are in receipt of a Home Care Package. CVS recipients do not have regular contact with relatives or friends and can feel very isolated and lonely. Providing a CVS volunteer visitor not only reduces these feelings but also increases the recipient’s self-esteem, improves general well-being and can diminish feelings of depression and anxiety. Village outings for a coffee or having the CVS visitor share news of community happenings can also help recipients feel more connected to their local area. The Community Visitors Scheme is funded by the Department of Health which has been renewed once again. The three components of the Springwood CVS Service are: AGED CARE SERVICES DEMENTIA CARERS SUPPORT GROUP CVS – One on One Residential Aged Care: 2 CVS – One on One Home Care Package Recipients: COMMUNITY VISITORS SCHEME (CVS) VOLUNTEER HOME VISITORS (VHV) TRANSPORT & DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE 1 SOCIAL SUPPORT, SOCIAL INCLUSTION GROUPS, EVENTS, HEALTH & WELL BEING 3 Springwood CVS is funded for 15 volunteers who visit residents in three local Aged Care Facilities. We currently have a wonderful team of 16 CVS volunteers and have met our funding target. Springwood CVS is funded for 10 volunteers to visit older people living in their own homes and in receipt of a Home Care Package. This is a new initiative of the Community Visitors Scheme and our team of 5 volunteers and clients continues to grow. CVS – Groups: Another new addition to the Community Visitors Scheme is CVS Groups. We are funded to provide for 5 groups and currently have 3 running in local aged care facilities. We are hoping to establish another two groups during the 2016/2017 financial year. Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 470 VISITS CVS SERVICE FUNDED TARGETS made by Springwood Community Visitors Scheme volunteers during the 2015/2016 Financial Year 362 residential aged care visits 77 31 home care package visits group sessions The duration of these visits can be as short as half an hour or as long as two or three hours. This means that overall, our CVS volunteers spent more than 950 hours providing social support. A fantastic effort. 13 CVS SERVICE ACTIVITIES CVS – One on One Residential Aged Care The past financial year has seen 16 CVS volunteers visit residents living in Uniting, Buckland and Opal Endeavour aged care facilities. Visits are one on one and are usually conducted weekly or fortnightly. DEMENTIA CARERS SUPPORT GROUP Home Care Package (HCP) Recipients The past financial year has seen 5 CVS volunteers visit HCP recipients living in their own homes in Springwood, Winmalee and Warrimoo. Visits are one on one and are usually conducted weekly or fortnightly. Residential Aged Care Facilities - Groups CVS currently has 3 groups running in Uniting Springwood–a scrapbooking, art and general interest group. The caring role can be joyful, satisfying and rewarding but also challenging and stressful. Volunteer Training Sessions CVS SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS There have been many Community Visitor Scheme highlights during the 2015/2016 Financial Year. The wonderful CVS volunteers continue to make a positive difference in the lives of those they visit. Outings to cafes, playing games such as chess or dominoes, crochet and craft or just having a good catch up over coffee are just some of the things our volunteers have enjoyed doing with their residents. Establishing the CVS Groups has been another highlight. Our scrapbooking and art groups at Uniting have proven very popular among residents. These groups have led to participants making some fantastic pieces of art and being able to scrapbook memories and events. Group activities also provide a platform for social interactions and connections among participants. Such friendships then extend to time spent outside of the group. A huge thank you to the fabulous CVS volunteers Lynne and Wendy who facilitate these groups. Their hard work and dedication is hugely appreciated by us all. CVS SERVICE CHALLENGES The main challenge for CVS has been the lack of referrals for Home Care Package (HCP) recipients. The CVS is traditionally viewed as a service that provides volunteer visitors to those residing only in aged care facilities. The scheme has now expanded to include those living in their own homes and in receipt of a Home Care Package. Having a volunteer visitor does not impact on package hours and is completely free. Home Care Package providers are encouraged to refer to the CVS any clients they feel would benefit from social support. 950 HRS Social Support Hours 2015/2016 900 HRS Social Support Hours 2014/2015 14 THANK YOU Our CVS Co-Ordinator, Jo Newton, would also love to hear from anyone interested in joining our wonderful team of volunteers. Volunteering for the CVS is extremely satisfying and rewarding and a great way to give back to the local community. DEMENTIA CURRENTLY EFFECTS MORE THAN 340,000 AUSTRALIANS Various training opportunities have been offered to CVS volunteers during the 2015/2016 Financial Year. These have included: “Special Needs Groups”, “Boundaries” and “Emergency Preparedness”. The Special Needs Group sessions focussed on six groups as identified by the Department of Health. These included the LGBTI community, Veterans, Care Leavers and those from a CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) background. CVS volunteers learnt more about these groups and in particular how different experiences and backgrounds can impact older people in an aged care setting. and the number continues to grow with our nation’s ageing population. It also impacts thousands of people caring for loved ones. Jo Newton CVS Co-ordinator The purpose of Springwood Neighbourhood Centre’s Dementia Carers Support group is to offer informal support to carers and the opportunity to connect with others in a similar situation. Stories and experiences are shared, advice and support given and information provided during our meetings. The diagnosis of dementia also raises many legal and ethical issues. Specialist advice sessions were provided by Elizabeth Evatt Community Legal Service and the Women’s Health & Resource Centre. The Co-ordinator and three carers attended a seminar at Parliament House, Macquarie Street for Dementia Awareness month about Creating Dementia Friendly communities. It was a very successful day and inspired an exploration of how SNCC might collaborate with other local Aged Care services and businesses to make Springwood a ‘dementia friendly town’. Members of the group celebrated Carer’s Week with a lunch at a local restaurant. Interest in the group continues to grow as community members become more aware of the need for information and support around this issue. The Dementia Carers Support Group meets twice a month in Springwood and new members are always welcome to come along. Group member Elsie says “The support and empathy I have received from this group has been invaluable” Evelyn, another group regular, says “If only this group was around years ago when I was caring for my husband.” 390 HRS so much to the wonderful team of Springwood CVS volunteers. You are all amazing and without you the Community Visitors Scheme would not exist. Thanks also to the staff and residents from Buckland Aged Care Service, Uniting and Opal Endeavour for your ongoing support of the CVS. The support and commitment to the CVS programme from the SNCC Board, fellow SNCC staff and in particular, Executive Officer, Toni Quigley continues to be greatly appreciated. Thank you all and I look forward to watching the Springwood Community Visitors Scheme continue its growth during the next financial year and beyond. - Jo Newton Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Social Support Hours 2015/2016 364 HRS Social Support 2014/2015 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 15 BLUE MOUNTAINS VOLUNTEER HOME VISITORS (VHV) The objective of the Springwood service is to provide social support and inclusion to our community members who are over 65 years (or 50 years and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), living in their own homes. Our VHV clients are often isolated due to ill health, frailty, distance and lack of social support networks. SNCC’s VHV service helps to maximise our clients’ independence in their homes and in the community for as long as they choose or are able to do so. SNCC’s VHV service aim is to assist our clients to participate in community life and feel socially included by meeting their needs for social contact and company through the support of empathic and trained volunteers. VHV SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS We are most pleased to report that our VHV client satisfaction survey conducted in March 2016 resulted in a high 90% satisfaction rating. Here is a small selection of quotes from VHV clients: “The service is always excellent.” “I don’t know what I’d do without my wonderful volunteer”. “My volunteer enables me to maintain my paperwork, bills etc. She reads out the mail then I can input it in my database. Everything is then paid on time”. “Thank you so much Anne for your care, respect and providing me with such a wonderful volunteer.” “I find my volunteer is more like a friend than a volunteer and Anne is always in touch, so lovely, she always make sure I’m 100% happy.” “Don’t you let anyone change your service - it’s the best service in the mountains for people like me”. Image Caption VHV SERVICE FUNDED TARGETS SNCC’s VHV service target in the 2015/2016 financial year was 2978 social support hours. We anticipated having 25 clients matched with 25 volunteers. Throughout the year, an expected pattern of client and volunteer attrition and new additions occurs. On average, SNCC met its targeted number of active clients and volunteers. All volunteers go through a formal induction process and checked for suitability. We also planned on facilitating five bus trips for our clients to enjoy and four training sessions attended by our VHV volunteers to keep them well informed. VHV SERVICE ACTIVITIES 1 Visiting: 2 Volunteer Training Sessions: 3 16 VHV Volunteers, on average, visit their client once per week for a minimum of two hours. Often the volunteers and clients spent more than two hours in each other’s company, especially if it was a shopping day together. On many occasions volunteers accompanied clients to appointments with their doctor or a special outing such as a bus trip out of their local area. Two of SNCC VHV’s clients are in a unique category which means their needs are slightly different due to their disabilities, however they have committed volunteers who tailor activities to their needs. Various formal training sessions and informal information sharing opportunities were held for VHV volunteers during the 2015/2016 Financial Year. These have included: “Avoiding Burn Out”, “Special Needs Groups”, “Boundaries” and “Emergency Preparedness”. The Special Needs Group sessions focussed on six groups as identified by the Department of Health. Social Inclusion Groups – Refer to page 17. Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Throughout the year VHV has had a number of morning teas for its volunteers either held at Norman Lindsay Café or The Ori café. Some of the morning teas were in conjunction with the CVS volunteers as a number have clients in both projects. September saw a bus trip for our more sedate clients down into the Megalong Valley for lunch at the tearooms followed by window shopping at Blackheath. Once again, the year ended with much fun, laughter and sparkle. Our group enjoyed a dinner together at the Penrith Golf Club. It was then back on the bus for our Christmas Lights adventure touring all the homes lit up to welcome the Christmas holiday season. Many thanks to Edgar, our bus driver, who for a second consecutive year kept us all safe on our Christmas Lights tour. Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 17 VHV CHALLENGES SOCIAL INCLUSION GROUPS The main challenge for our service is continual growth in client and volunteer numbers. Our SNCC VHV service needs to be attractive to the growing demographic of community members who are frail and isolated, seeking reliable support in their own homes. We need to raise the visibility of our audited and fully compliant service to ensure a high level of awareness within our community. We have a challenge to encourage greater access to our service which provides a critical function for our community. Closely aligned to this challenge is attracting reliable and trained volunteers in sufficient numbers to meet the demand. Coming up trumps for community inclusion! With Blue Mountains Volunteer Home Visitors Springwood service firmly focused on supporting the over 65’s – “staying connected” – it successfully ran a number of social inclusion groups in the 2015/2016 financial period. Once again, highlighting SNCC’s VHV service’s vital role in the fabric of our local community. There are five groups supported by SNCC: Knit ‘n’ Yarn; Vision Impaired People (VIP); Open Door, Friday Social Cards Group and Dementia Carers Group. These groups continue to bring support, companionship and joy to the lives of those people who use them. People who might otherwise be alone, frail, unwell or socially disadvantaged. The reasons for their individual circumstances differ but at the core of all their unique stories is the need to connect and be supported. VHV SPECIAL MENTION In May 2016, SNCC’s VHV service was audited by the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency, Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP). The Audit confirmed that the SNCC VHV service was compliant to Home Care Standards. We are pleased to report that the SNCC VHV service met 18 out of 18 expected outcomes – a 100% pass. This accreditation assures all our clients that they will receive a service of the highest quality. VHV Volunteers This was a major undertaking which included a collaborative team effort working towards a shared goal, ensuring all our policies and procedures and client and volunteer files were compliant. A selection of our clients and volunteers were interviewed by the auditors and their responses contributed to achieving an excellent result. At the same time a client satisfaction survey was carried out with the SNCC VHV service achieving a 90% satisfaction rating. Sadly, a number of VHV clients have passed away in the last year. All are missed by their volunteers as close friendships are formed over the weeks, months and years that clients and volunteers interact with each other. Thank you to those volunteers for your commitment. Knit ‘N’ Yarn The offices of Senator Doug Cameron, Senator for NSW, are a hive of activity every second Wednesday as the Knit ‘n’ Yarn group comes together, knitting a wide variety of colourful things such as baby blankets, knee rugs, trauma teddies and penguin jumpers. The ‘temperature quilt’ meticulously records the daily temperatures for a year by row and colour. The quiet ambience of the office is transformed with the gentle click-clack of the knitter’s needles and the hum of conversation between members of the group. One of this year’s highlights was a trip the Megalong Valley Tearooms, which provided everyone the chance to take in the fantastic views and enjoy a Devonshire tea. Vision Impaired Persons NUMBER OF INSTANCES OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AND VISITING 736 2014/2015 2015/2016 2207 HRS 1744 HRS Social Support Hours Social Support Hours 351 HRS Accompanied Activities 1152 HRS 456 HRS Social Support VHV Bus Trips Social Support 7 HRS 3712 HRS Telephone / Web Contact 234 HRS Visiting VHV Social Groups TOTAL HOURS 1744 HRS 2014/2015 Subtotal Social Support Hours 5912 HRS 2015/2016 Social Art Group The VIP meet once a month and it’s been a tough few months for its members, with the passing of some and a fair share of ill health amongst the group. Trips to the Japanese Gardens in Auburn and the Ebenezer Church provided a much needed change of scenery and an opportunity to reflect on the year. The generosity of the Winmalee Lions Club is always appreciated, with their donations of Christmas cakes and puddings putting the finishing touches on the Christmas lunch at the Ori Hotel that was enjoyed by all who went along. Open Door Look inside the door of the small Presbyterian Church on a Tuesday morning and you’ll find Open Door members gathering for Bingo, show and tell, or to listen to a talk by an invited guest. You might even see them on the road, with one Tuesday a month dedicated to adventure. This year the group’s members met alpacas at Kurrajong, petted rescue horses at Ebenezer, made new friends with the Ring- Tailed Lemurs at Helensburgh’s Symbio Wildlife Park and washed it all down with a cold beverage at the Wallacia Hotel. Social Cards Keen card enthusiasts can be seen sharing their knowledge and testing their skills at the Friday Social Cards Group, in a light hearted and supportive environment. With the cards and board games packed away, the group enjoyed a number of bus trips in 2016 including two to Reverse Garbage at Marrickville - a veritable treasure trove for those who recycle materials. Last year’s evening Christmas Lights bus trip proved such a hit, it is scheduled for a run this year as well. AGED CARE SUMMARY STATS 2014/2015 3471 HRS Total Hours 2270 HRS Volunteer Home Visits 900 HRS Community Volunteer Scheme Visits 364 HRS Dementia Carers Group 2015/2016 7252 HRS Total Hours 1744 HRS Volunteer Home Visits 950 HRS Community Volunteer Scheme Visits 390 HRS Dementia Carers Group community development COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AND GROUPS The main objective of Community Development is to build upon the existing knowledge and strengths that are already present in our community, for the benefit of all. With its foundation in social justice and human rights, community development aims to redress imbalance in power between groups and individuals, giving all the opportunity to engage and affect positive change. SNCC strives for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive. As a not-for-profit, charitable organisation, SNCC carries out an important role within the community facilitating an increase or preservation of social capital. SNCC promotes working with mutual respect, trust and cooperation. SNCC has undertaken many areas in community development over the 2015/2016 financial year. Through various events, groups, activities, volunteering projects, SNCC has engaged with children, youth, families, the elderly and those with a lived experience of mental health or with a disability. SNCC supports and encourages many interests, whether it be an interest in: knitting; science; technology; physical fitness, social cards, singing or art. These activities are examples of community development which bring people together and at its heart, aims to empower those who lack resources, opportunities or suffer isolation. We all benefit from building a community where participation of all community members is a reality. ACTIVITIES Exercise at Ellison | Facilitator: Rachel Merton This very popular programme has been part of a suite of activities that originally started after the 2013 bushfires. Its focus is to make regular exercise accessible, break down barriers and build community connection. These classes also provide an opportunity for anyone to exercise in a non-judgemental space and everyone can work at their own level. It has proved to be so popular that it now runs three times per week and is open to all ages. Feedback from participants has been most positive and have stated: TIME BANKING “We love coming because we can exercise with our children and it is outdoors” ACTIVITIES & GROUPS “It doesn’t matter about your level of fitness, it’s relaxed and non-judgemental.” “I suffered from post-natal depression and was very sick from the medication I was put on. I heard about this group and started coming along. Since I started I have come off the medication I was on, it has helped that much. I feel it has changed my life. I have also started a new walking group with a few of the participants; we meet on the days that Exercise at Ellison don’t meet. I called it ‘Burn fat while we chat’.” FUNctional Fitness | Facilitator: Anne Fell EVENTS AUSPICE GROUPS FUNctional Fitness THE HARDWOOD METHOD “I love that the exercises can be modified for all levels of fitness. And it’s a bargain.” Exercise at Ellison COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Once again, the FUNctional Fitness group enjoyed a happy time together working to be as fit and independent as possible. Numbers have grown from 14 to 18 in the class each week, aged between 60-80 years old. The group engages in a variety of activities including gentle aerobics, strengthening with simple equipment, stretching and balance. The group participants demonstrate a commitment and an enthusiasm to improving their physical capabilities with many reporting they utilise the activities at other times though the week. This demonstrates the ongoing health benefits that are created when participating in a group activity. In addition, the group has also become a social opportunity with many participants continuing on after the session to have a catch up in a local coffee shop and at the end of the year they arrange for a Christmas lunch for everyone. Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 21 Yoga for Seniors | Facilitator: Elizabeth Godleman Information Technology Our regular Computer tuition classes (one to one or one to two) continue each Friday morning. Laurette Lideros is the skilled volunteer who runs these 8 week tuition classes that targets participants’ individual needs. There is a waiting list for this type of tuition, particularly for those who may find using computers a little daunting. However, in the capable hands of Laurette that soon disappears! ART SOCIAL GROUP Kids Zumba | Facilitators: Zita Olalia & Jody Haeden In November 2015, the Art Social Group held a one-day joint art show with Healing Thru Creativity, organised with help from Alison Orme and Leesa Brading (HTC). It was an enjoyable and successful event, with many paintings, lovely craft, jewellery and bags available for purchase. The big surprise of the day was Mayor, Mark Greenhill visiting and purchasing a few hand-made cards. Mark Hand from Springwood Acoustic Club played Christmas Carols on his guitar. Therese West also entertained attendees with her songs and joined by several guest artists and friends creating a jam session together. The small hall came alive with laughter, music, art and fun! Everyone who sold work donated to SNCC’s Emergency Food Relief service which helps those in need within our community. Plans are in place to do this event again in November 2016 – all welcome. The focus for Zumba Kids Programme is school aged children and pre-school aged children and encourages them to be physically active with their parents and/or carers. It is a wonderful programme of dance and aerobics and the children who participated were enthusiastic and energetic. Originally run at Winmalee Public School it has moved to Blaxland Primary School. This is a fun way for children and their parents or carers to be physically active. Kids Zumba also had a great time participating in the Winter Magic Festival. Pilates | Facilitator: Ellissa Nolan Pilates Mountains Pilates is a partnership between instructor, Ellissa Nolan and SNCC and is an initiative that brings great benefit to all participants. Mountains Pilates started in July 2015 and came about from a personal need Ellissa had – to find a suitable form of exercise following her spinal fusion surgery. Facilitator | Christeen Hull The Art Social Group now has about 12 members who attend on a regular basis as well as an additional number who come every so often. The core group has a pleasant and balanced dynamic created by the 11 women and 1 man. As a group, we love to find any reason to celebrate and our monthly birthday parties are always a big hit, as is my cappuccino cake. For the months when there is no birthday, we make one up – who wants to miss out on a party? SHINE COMMUNITY CHOIR Founding Choir Master | Nicole Giezekamp Classes began initially on Saturday mornings only with the first class attracting three people. Since then the demand has grown to such an extent that full classes are now held on both Saturday and Sunday mornings and there is a waiting list to join. With low impact on joints, Pilates is proving to be an appealing choice for a diverse range of Blue Mountains residents who enjoy toning up, improving their posture and gaining flexibility in a friendly and supportive environment. SHINE has continued to sing all over the Blue Mountains as well as overseas in the past year, experiencing wonderful adventures and interacting with community in many different ways. Once again SHINE performed “Christmas in July” at the Springwood Uniting Church hospice and nursing home facilities for a second consecutive year. The concerts were enjoyed both by the residents and participants. Continuing the singing of carols, they also performed for the Springwood Chamber of Commerce in the lead up to the Christmas holidays in front of the Presbyterian Church in Macquarie Road, Springwood. Carols were sung for the Blaxland/Glenbrook community in the local hall, an event which included jingling bells and audience participation. Tai Chi | Facilitator: Renata Bros The most exciting event for the year was the accepted invitation to perform at the Lincoln Centre in New York with an amassed community choir of 150 voices from all over the world. Over $2,000 was generously donated to SHINE from the Blue Mountains City Council and so as “Ambassadors of the Blue Mountains – the Inaugural City of the Arts”, SHINE members ‘stepped up’ and performed in French, Creole and Latin – an experience in personal growth and cultural extension! During their visit, choir members met the Australian Consul General in New York, Nick Minchin and his wife. A tour of the United Nations building was another itinerary highlight. For the nine members who were able to represent their choir overseas, it was a memorable experience and a tribute to all involved – especially the dynamic promotional work carried out by Nicole Giezekamp (Musical Director and Founding Choir master for the Shine Community Choir). Tai Chi is of great benefit to those who may not be able to undertake other exercise as it is gentle and improves circulation, promotes better balance, flexibility and reduces stress. Facilitator, Renata Bros is a member of the Australian Tai Chi Association, Kung Fu Association and the Australian Sports Commission. Tai Chi Most of the participants are over 60 years with some being in their 80’s. This very popular community yoga class has seen the development of many friendships which have extended to other activities including bushwalking, card games and holidays. This is just one of the many ways that Elizabeth contributes to her community and SNCC is very grateful for her support. Yoga for Seniors SNCC also partnered with Springwood High School and delivered an Animation course for a small group of students. The course was very well received and it is hoped that SNCC can make this a regular activity. Classes for smartphones also took place and we aim to meet a demand for further training in this area. Elizabeth Godleman has been facilitating the Yoga for Seniors programme for over 12 years. Her expertise and welcoming approach encourages participants to enjoy the many benefits of yoga and at the same time to build relationships. A variety of ages attend classes from children through to adults. Renata believes that Tai Chi is a beautiful art of well-being and includes the group in other community activities such as World Tai Chi Day, the Well-being Expo and every Sunday participants can be seen in Springwood doing one of their regular Sunday classes. Art Social Group Kids Zumba Information Technology In the year for “Digital Inclusion” SNCC has provided several opportunities for community members to gain greater understanding around various digital devices. iPad Training for Beginners – a very successful five-week course was held. Participants requested further training on an Intermediate level – discussions underway. Another five-week Beginners course was held in the mornings and Android Tablets in the afternoons. The choir continues to meet each Monday evening and perform at local festivals and community events. New members are always welcome. The Talking Gazette The Talking Gazette | Co-ordinator: Noeleen Udall 22 The Talking Gazette is a volunteer group that narrates the local Gazette Newspaper for those who have difficulty reading the paper for various reasons or who prefer to have the joy of hearing someone read to them. Shine Community Choir The first edition of the Talking Gazette was posted on Thursday, March 10th in 2005! Since then, each week the group has met to narrate the Blue Mountains Gazette newspaper and then post out the recordings. Community members who receive these recordings are provided with a wonderful way to stay connected to the local news and community activities. Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 23 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EVENTS SCIENCE AT THE LOCAL The Science at The Local initiative is a very successful collaboration between Springwood Neighbourhood Centre, Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre and a local scientist Hamish Clarke and science teacher, Kevin Joseph. Informative talks, coordinated by Hamish and Kevin which began in 2015, are conducted by respected and eminently qualified professionals. These forums have certainly captured the attention of a growing local audience. Additional funding from Inspiring NSW secured the provision of more regular events in 2016. It also provided for the development of a regional science hub and webpage. Fundraising is planned for the 2016/2017 year, mainly driven by Hamish and Kevin with promotional support from WNC & SNCC. The regular Sunday events are held every alternate month at the Springwood Sports Club and topics covered in the 2015/2016 year and attended by over 600 people are listed below: Sunday 19 July 2015 Sunday 13 September 2015 Professor Shari Forbes, University of Technology, Sydney CSI Yarramundi – The forensic science of human decomposition MANNERS PARK TREE Once again, in December 2015, over 50 children from Ellison Primary School, Faulconbridge Primary School and Springwood Primary School took part in our annual Christmas Tree decorating at Manners Park in Springwood. The children came with the decorations they had made in class. Our respected Rural Fire Service kindly turned up to lend a hand with ladders for those hard to reach top branches. This yearly tradition begun nearly 40 years ago. It is wonderful how children who decorated the Manners Tree all those years ago are now parents taking along their children to this beloved community event. This indicates the enduring connection between SNCC and the community it supports. INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY Jocelyn Brewer, registered psychologist Technology is not a drug – why we need digital nutrition, not digital detoxes Our annual International Women’s Day breakfast was held on Friday, 11 March 2016. It was a great success. The panel discussion and stories of five local women, from a variety of backgrounds, were very well received. In fact, we could have spent much more time listening to their stories and interacting with other women present. Over 60 women attended and their positive feedback was much appreciated. One of our regulars said: “this is the best event you have hosted so far!” Thanks go to all staff who gave most willingly of their time and support. Sunday 8 November 2015 Iain McGregor, Professor of Psychopharmacology Demon weed or wonder drug? – The science of cannabis Double Dose Sunday 13 March 2016 Dr Rob Wittenmyer, UNSW Australia Earth 2.0? The new golden age of exoplanetary science Professor Geraint Lewis, University of Sydney Are we lucky to live in a universe made for us? Why the cosmos and life are a match made in heaven. Dr Elizabeth New, Sydney University Don’t stress! What’s all the fuss about antioxidants? Professor Michael Gillings, Macquarie University The evolution of bugs in our guts – fire, farming and antibiotics Science At The Local - Springwood Sports Club 24 Through the collaboration and partnership of many organisations and volunteers, the 2015 Blue Fringe Arts Festival again celebrated the creativity of people with a lived experience of mental illness. The two aspects of this event are the Literature event and the Arts event. The Literature event launched Mental Health month on Thursday, 1 October 2015 and the Art exhibition was held at Wentworth Falls campus TAFE on 31 October 2015. The Literature event and Art exhibition both provide an opportunity by neighbourhood centres for participants to have their creative work published and their unique experiences acknowledged and recognised. Professor Ray Norris, CSIRO & Macquarie University The astronomy of Aboriginal Australians – The world’s first astronomers? Akos Lumnitzer, photographer A matter of light – photographing the powerful owl and other native species in the Blue Mountains Sunday 15 May 2016 BLUE FRINGE SENIORS EXPO An Ageing with Altitude Mini Seniors Expo was held at Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre on Saturday, 6 April 2016. This event was a partnership between the BLINN members. It was a morning set aside for sharing information and entertaining seniors and carers. Another purpose was to inform participants and build social connections. Visitors were given access to services and people who could explain the various changes to the delivery of Aged Care services. Tips on exercise and nutrition were on hand as was the availability of community classes and resources. NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE WEEK The theme for Neighbourhood Centre Week, 9-21 May 2016, was GROW Together, Eat TOGETHER. Our staff and volunteers took herbs and winter flowering plants over to Tanderra on the corner of Raymond & David Roads, Springwood. A large group of children who attend Tanderra were delighted to welcome the visiting Centre volunteers and staff. Together, everyone had much fun planting a garden together. Tanderra’s Co-ordinator and children had already prepared the ground for the new garden so it didn’t take long at all with all the many hands pitching in. Happy snaps posted to both Tanderra’s and SNCC’s Facebook pages received lots of views and positive responses. Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 25 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUSPICE GROUPS A support group for people living with or recovering from a mental illness. Watercolour & craft tutored fortnight during the school term Cost of for the day….. $5 for lunch $5 tutor & materials (school term) Where… Presbyterian Church - Small Hall Healing Through Creativity Flyer Macquarie Rd Springwood Talk to Leesa or Karen 4759 2811 or email [email protected] HTC is a project supported by Springwood Community Art Centre Blue Mountains Food Services Springwood Neighbourhood Centre The project receives financial support from State and Commonwealth Governments The Healing Through Creativity Mental Health Project continues to run a successful partnership between the Springwood Community Arts Centre, Springwood Neighbourhood Centre and Blue Mountains Food Services. The group provides a safe and supportive place where participants feel understood and can talk about their problems or needs to others who have experiences of mental illness first hand, without feeling uncomfortable. Concerts performed by The Joseph Tawadros Quartet and by the Prrim Trio caught the beauty of multicultural Australia: Some of the social activities included: a trip to The Hydro Majestic for a coffee; Megalong tea rooms for lunch; Blackheath to Keith Rowe Glass blowing studio and the Penrith Regional Gallery for the Punuku Tjukurpa (Aboriginal art) Exhibition. Healing Through Creativity (HTC) were invited to exhibit with the Springwood Art Social Group. The exhibition was held at the small Presbyterian hall and it was a great opportunity for both groups to showcase their creative skills, make a few sales and show the community what fantastic programmes are available. The Prrim Trio combined south Indian percussion with the koto (a Japanese stringed instrument), the trombone and a selection of flute-like instruments from around the world. This unique grouping of instruments was commented upon when a critic with the Sydney Morning Herald wrote: “That in the hands of musicians at the top of their game, it sounded entirely natural”. Healing Through Creativity was fortunate enough to receive a grant of $2,200 from the Accessible Arts Grant programme. The money has funded one of the workshops and some extra art materials. This has provided the opportunity for participants to work towards personal goals and the achievement of exhibiting art work at the Blue Fringe Exhibition. SPRINGWOOD ACOUSTIC CLUB: “STAYING GROOVY” Mark Hand Springwood Acoustic Club continues to have a loyal membership and attract new people of all ages and levels of experience. The club has a unique ‘round-robin’ format that provides a warm and embracing atmosphere where performers can build confidence. Participants play music, read poems or tell yarns or simply enjoy the performances as audience members. The 2015/2016 financial year showcased: Rod Robinson; Nick Gledhill and Alan Foster at Club meetings, providing opportunities for socialising in an alcohol-free, family friendly environment. The Joseph Tawadros Quartet concert attracted nearly 300 people! Joseph and James Tawadros played their middle eastern oud (a lute) contemporary jazz piano providing percussion and bass. It was one of the last performances by Joseph Tawadros before he headed to London to compose a work for the BBC Orchestra. The Prrim Trio Running weekly on Wednesday’s 9:30 – 12:30 Live at the Village presented four concerts in Springwood during the 2015/2016 financial year: three were held at the Presbyterian Hall and one held at the Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub. Our members: Gary Daley, Llew & Mara Kiek and Bruce Reid also performed a free concert on a Saturday morning at the Town Plaza Arcade in Springwood. The Joseph Tawadros Quartet 2016 Co-ordinator: Mary Travers In June 2016, children and adults alike were delighted by a silent animated 1926 film: “The Adventures of Prince Achmed”. This was accompanied by Phillip Johnston’s quartet playing a theatrical style of jazz that he had written for the film and performed all over the world. HEALING THROUGH CREATIVITY HEALING THROUGH CREATIVITY. LIVE AT THE VILLAGE Businesses such as the Turning Page Bookshop and Peter Karp Photography continue to provide invaluable support. We have welcomed the opportunity over the past year to recruit new members to our management committee who are drawn from our regular community of audience members. This has broadened our skills base, extended our volunteer ranks and deepened our relationship with the community. Our first concert in 2016 attracted many new listeners to hear fresh, modern interpretations of jazz classics by Ellington and Strayhorn, sung by Michelle Nicolle, arguably Australia’s leading singer of jazz standards. The Michelle Nicolle Quartet drove up from Melbourne especially for the concert at Springwood. This reflects the strong relationships Live at the Village has established in the music community. It was a pleasure to see our concerts attended by 600 people! Michelle Nicolle Springwood Acoustic Club 26 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 27 EMERGENCY FOOD RELIEF 2015/2016 AS THE SMOKE CLEARS Once again local businesses and organisations continued to partner with SNCC in many ways to benefit community. In particular, their contributions towards SNCC’s programme of providing emergency food relief is very much appreciated. Special thanks to Springwood’s Lloyds Supa IGA, Curves, Anytime Gym Springwood, SDA Warrimoo Church and the generosity of residents’ donations. The publication of “As the Smoke Clears”, following the 2013 Blue Mountains bush fires, raised over $20,000. This money along with other fundraising has been allocated to the revitalisation of three areas – Emma Parade Park, Mt Victoria Public School Bird Garden Project and Blue Arc which is to assist with the planning and management of animals in any future emergency in the Blue Mountains. INCREASE 29% The need for this service increased by more than 22% over the 2015/2016 financial year and is provided without any Government funding support. This year SNCC trialled setting up a GoFundMe online account and so far has raised $200 through this method. We will continue with this option for those who like to donate online. All of these funds were spent on stocking up our food cupboards during the winter months when demand on this service typically increases due to winter often being a financially difficult time for many people. TOTAL ASSISTED 2014/2015 2015/2016 241 305 Adults Adults 130 173 Children Children INCREASE +21% SNCC’s Emergency Food Relief service speaks directly to its charter and the very real need for organisations such as ours within the community. Once again we would like to recognise and gratefully acknowledge all community members who regular put food into our community food collection containers. Adults +25% Children SUBURBS WHERE EMERGENCY FOOD RECIPIENTS RESIDE AND NUMBER OF INSTANCES ASSISTED: Image Caption Emma Parade Park Emma Parade Park in Winmalee was originally created in 1970 and was a very badly affected area in 2013. With the assistance of local residents, new garden beds have been restored and native plants selected to attract the birds. Two park benches have also been installed for use by the community. 50% Cheryl Kirby has lived in Emma Parade for more than 30 years and said that the planting has renewed spirits: “It has brought about an environment where people can gather together or just come and sit on one of the benches to relax among the plants – children once again are at play and our street is alive with its new community. The park now says; welcome home”. 45% Mount Victoria Bird Garden 2014/15 2015/16 The Mount Victoria Public School has been part of the area for over 125 years and nine homes were destroyed in 2013 and the fires spreading to over 9000 hectares. The bird garden aims to provide a native plant garden which will attract the birds and eventually cover a large fenced gas cylinder. Quite a challenge! Ninety-one plywood shapes have been made and painted by the school children. With the support of the students and community, working bees have been held and the flower shapes hung on the fence and a protective layer of mulch around the fence. There is much work to do, mostly in the preparation of the ground for further planting. Eventually a bird bath will be placed in the garden. It is hoped that the garden will be finished in about another year. 40% 35% 30% 25% The Blue ARC Project 20% Bushfires and other emergencies can cause great suffering, not only for the people but also the animals which are dependent on them – as well as the rich and diverse wildlife in this area. 15% 10% Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive OTHER YELLOW ROCK WOODFORD WINMALEE WENTWORTH FALLS WARRIMOO SPRINGWOOD PENRITH SOUTH NO FIXED ABODE MT RIVERVIEW LUDDENHAM LITHGOW LAWSON LAPSTONE KATOOMBA HAZELBROOK FAULCONBRIDGE BLAXLAND 5% 28 These three projects, auspiced by Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative, are run by a group of community minded residents who devote much of their spare time bringing back to life areas that were severely impacted during the fires. There are many practical issues involved with emergency animal management, including: evacuation, transport, accommodation, veterinary treatment and such like. It also involves many people and organisations. Animals are a great comfort to many people and are part of their families and this can have devastating effects in an emergency. The need to educate people about these issues is increasing. The Blue ARC project is being supported by Dr Mel Taylor, an occupational psychologist from Macquarie University. Her project, Managing Animals in a Disaster (MAD), is looking at improving the outcomes for public safety and the resilience of pet owners, also those with animal related businesses and the community. The Blue ARC project will identify people and networks with key people involved in animal welfare, surveying people about their plans for their animals in an emergency and eventually running first aid classes for animal care. Other training and information will also become available. Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 29 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THE HARWOOD METHOD The Harwood methodology enables us to better understand our communities. In the lower mountains, community development workers from the Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre, Lower Mountains Neighbourhood Centre and Springwood Neighboured Centre worked together to deliver the four Ask questions and this was followed up by community conversations forums. It has also been agreed that a uniform analysis process will be undertaken across the Blue Mountains and Lithgow area to ensure a uniform base-line for comparing the needs of the different communities. In Springwood, the Ask questions sessions were held at: Faulconbridge station to catch early commuters; in the Springwood Town Square and with community members who ‘dropped in’ to the Centre. The Springwood Community Conversations forum was held on 23 February 2016. Eighteen community members attended, as well as two other community workers from LMNC and Lithgow. Timebanking is a NSW Government initiative, overseen by Department of Family and Community Services (FACS), which aims to grow volunteering in NSW communities. Timebanking connects people locally via an online profile system where individuals and community groups can give what they want and get what they need. People exchange each hour volunteered for an equivalent credit to be used for whatever service they need. Types of services people exchange, include: computer repairs, cleaning, hospital visits, gardening, ironing, cooking classes, administration, dog walking, tutoring and working bees. SNCC’s Time banking service in the Blue Mountains continued to grow with membership reaching 199 members at the end of the financial year and over 200 members the following month in July 2016. During the 2015/2016 year, a total of 361 activities were logged, amounting to 2,610 hours donated and exchanged. Advertisement in the BM Record This process is the result of a decision by the BLINN consortium – Blue Mountains Lithgow Integrated Neighbourhood Network – to continue to service and work with our communities. The Harwood Method is used to understand the aspirations of our community. As part of this decision, community development workers and other staff were trained in the process and agreement reached to continue working collaboratively to achieve the best result. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TIMEBANKING Russell Searle, SNCC’s Timebanking volunteer co-ordinator, continues to help Timebankers create effective profiles and to navigate the website when logging their hours. We are very excited about the future possibilities of the BM Timebanking service and its expansion within the community. Timebankers at morning tea get together A variety of themes became evident. In no particular order they were: isolation; public transport; families and the lack of time to participate; services and activities need to be available in non-traditional times; concerns about resources for teens; lack of communication between the older members of the community and this group; use of public space, particularly the Springwood Town Square and the lack of spaces to sit; more active creative spaces are needed; concern about the manner in which the Hub is being used and how the front area should be available for activities. New staff have been supported with webinar training, practical support from their colleagues and opportunities to practice their skills as this process is rolled out. It is anticipated that during November 2016 more Ask questions will be held in the different Blue Mountains villages. When “Meet your Street” activities are held, Harwood techniques will be applied. It is apparent from analysing data collected that communities within the Blue Mountains have identified certain prominent common themes. They are: connection with the community and the impact of social isolation on community members and their capacity to engage. 30 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 31 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STATS TOTAL NUMBER OF ATTENDANCES 32 TOTAL NUMBER OF ATTENDANCES GROUP OR ACTIVITY 2015/2016 2014/2015 NAME OF EVENT 2015/2016 Art Social Group 352 891 AGM 51 Back to the Bush 48 22 B Safe Research Report Publication Launch 90 Computer Training - Android Smart Phones for Beginners 15 Back to the Bush 10 Computer Training - Android Tablet for Beginners 18 Blue Fringe Arts Festival 425 Computer Training - iPad for Beginners & Intermediate 71 Bus Trip to Christmas Lights 24 Computer Training - iPhone for Beginners 4 Bus Trip to Megalong Tea Rooms 15 Computer Tuition 63 Bus Trip to Reverse Garbage 15 Dementia Carers 163 182 Bus Trip to Warragamba Dam 22 Exercise at Ellison - all days 870 2,195 Emergency Preparedness Workshops x 3 31 Fit for Fun 33 59 International Women's Day Breakfast 63 FUNctional Fitness 586 397 Live at the Village events x 4 597 Healing Through Creativity 529 1,380 Manners Park Tree Decorating 45 Knit and Yarn 195 230 Science At The Local events 275 Open Door Social 307 635 Seniors Expo 300 Pilates - both days 478 Sketching Out 15 Rhythm Stix Drumming Group 113 328 Training for Board, Management, Staff 55 Shine Community Choir 714 1,020 Training for Centre Volunteers 10 Social Cards & Board Games 759 635 Training for CVS & VHV Volunteers 14 Springwood Acoustic Club 45 143 Volunteers' A Very Festive Morning Tea 46 Tai Chi Qigong 379 676 Winter Food Drive N/A Talking Gazette 288 1,182 Women's Water Works Info Session 69 Tax Help 135 62 Total 2,172 Vision Impaired Persons (VIPs) 75 116 Workout at Winmalee 299 Yarn-Recycled Craft 152 Yoga for Community 342 Yoga for Senior Women 881 1,752 Zumba Kids 445 197 Total 8,359 12,413 311 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 33 focus on families TANDERRA OOSH SERVICE OBJECTIVES Tanderra OOSH provides quality care for primary aged children for Before School Care, After School Care and Vacation Care. We aim to provide an environment for children which is safe, stimulating and nurturing where children can relax, engage with friends and explore and develop new skills and interests. Children’s own choices are respected and their input and ideas form the basis of the programming and activities. TANDERRA OOSH SERVICE PROVISION & OVERVIEW Tanderra offers high quality care to families of the community. Our Before School Care service operates from 6.30 – 9.00am, After School Care is from 2.30 – 6.30pm and Vacation Care operates from 7.00am – 6.30pm. We involve parents and children in all aspects of the programming, planning and evaluation and consult them on all matters which affect their interests at the service. TANDERRA OOSH SERVICE TARGETS »» To offer an engaging and stimulating programming based on the children’s needs and interests. »» To uphold the highest standards of safety and care at all times including with staff supervision, safe transportation to and from the pick-up points, the provision of a healthy menu etc. »» To provide a safe, nurturing environment where children can make their own choices, explore their own interests and engage in recreationally based learning which is effective, fun and stimulating. FOCUS ON FAMILIES TANDERRA OOSH SERVICE TANDERRA OOSH SERVICE ACTIVITIES »» Before School Care from 6.30 – 9.00am »» After School Care from 2.30 – 6.30pm ACTIVITIES SPECIAL EVENTS Childcare at Tanderra POSITION, OVERVIEW & TARGETS »» To ensure compliance and continued improvement in accordance with the National Quality Framework for the care and education of school aged children. »» Vacation Care from 7.00am – 6.30pm HIGHLIGHTS, ACHIEVEMENTS & CHALLENGES »» Pupil free day care from 6.30 – 6.30pm (following the schedule for State schools) Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 35 Excursion to Calmsley Hill Farm in Catherine Fields – 2 July 2015 An interesting experience for the children who enjoyed interacting with farm animals and getting a taste of farming life for rural Australia. Naidoc Day celebrations at Jamison Park – 10 July 2015 The children enjoyed participating in this fun and dynamic event which was sponsored by Penrith City Council to celebrate the cultural heritage and contribution of Indigenous Australians. Café Day – 29 September 2015 The children ‘had a ball’ creating their own Tanderra Café – designing the menu, shopping for the ingredients, preparing and serving and enjoying the food. SPECIAL MENTION TANDERRA OOSH SPECIAL EVENTS Annalisa Moore completed her Certificate IV in Children’s Services (OSHC) in March 2016 and was promoted to a permanent part time position. Well done, Annalisa, for your hard work and achievement. The service appreciates the hard work and dedication of Liz Perfect whose art classes have run at Tanderra on Thursday afternoons since Term 3, 2015. The classes are an opportunity for children to extend their artistic skills and abilities under the caring tuition of an experienced artist and art teacher. They are a valuable addition to our service, offering an opportunity for busy families to enrol their children in. Special thanks to Tim’s Tidy Up Service who have tended beautifully to Tanderra’s yard and premises each Monday. Their hard work has made a big difference and makes the environment much more pleasant for the children. Science Day – 17 December 2015 Gardening at Tanderra Science Day was great with new experiments including making home-made snot (!!) and doing blind taste testing. Let’s Get Messy Day – 12 April 2016 Let’s Get Messy Day was an opportunity for the children to really let loose and let some of that crazy energy out! They made slime, snow and relished getting as messy as possible. JD’s World of Magic - 21 April 2016 JD’s World of Magic was a super fun and interactive magic show - greatly enjoyed by the children and a definite highlight of their holiday. Neighbourhood Centre Week 9-21 May 2016 with theme: “GROW together, eat TOGETHER” During Neighbourhood Centre Week 2016, Tanderra children got together with Springwood Neighbourhood Centre staff and volunteers and planted vegetables, herbs and flowers. It was plenty of fun for everyone, happy to celebrate the theme “Grow together, Eat together”. A big thank you to SNCC staff for organising this event! TANDERRA OOSH SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS & ACHIEVEMENTS TANDERRA OOSH FUTURE PLANS »» Gardening with SNCC in April was a good experience for the children to participate with the wider community. The children have enjoyed tending to the garden since that day too. Tanderra staff and management continue to work hard to meet the high standards set in the National Quality Framework through ACEQCA. We are currently focussing on reviewing our service policies and philosophy which is an involved process requiring consultation with all stakeholders of the service. The service is evaluating areas of the premises which may require improvement. »» Kids Disco in January was a ball. Lots of budding performing artists were on board. »» Bathroom floor was refurbished to make it safer and also improve the ease of maintaining a hygienic environment. »» The Chill Room walls were reinforced and painted. TANDERRA OOSH SERVICE CHALLENGES Tanderra staff worked hard to improve their service delivery, as specified by the Quality Improvement Plan which is assessed by the Regulatory Authority via Department of Education (Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate). We particularly focussed on our processes for programming and review as this was identified as an area requiring improvement. The hard work of staff in addressing this area has paid off and programming, planning and evaluation is now a smoother and more inclusive process in keeping with the requirements of NQF. Tanderra Vacation Care Activity 36 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive TANDERRA OOSH STATS EXPENDITURE 2015/2016 2014/2015 Total number of Families using the service 131 161 Total number of children enrolled 263 232 Number of days the service was open 204 244 Before School Care – number of bookings 6,166 6,469 Before School Care – number of individual children who attended 118 103 After School Care – number of bookings 10,992 10,784 After School Care – number of individual children who attended 183 164 Vacation School Care – number of bookings 1,629 1,531 Vacation School Care – number of individual children who attended 189 179 Pupil Free Day – number of bookings 67 83 Pupil Free Day – number of individual children who attended 54 67 Total number of bookings across all service components 18,854 18,784 Number of children with additional needs 20 19 Number of children of ATSI descent 18 9 Number of children with at least one parents with a CALD background 24 20 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 37 research BSAFE - BLUE MOUNTAINS SUSTAINABLE APPROACHES TO FIRE AND EMERGENCIES A Community Action Model to build resilience, improve preparedness and enhance self-responsibility. Research Partners: Dr Sarah Redshaw, Research Associate Charles Sturt University Dr Valerie Ingham, Senior Lecturer in Emergency Management, Charles Sturt University Kath Harrison, Chief Executive Officer, Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre Inc. Toni Quigley, Executive Officer, Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative Ltd. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations are made on the basis of the BSAFE findings. 1 2 Recommendation 1 The BSAFE Community Action Framework be considered as a transferable model for community preparedness using a range of community engagement, participation and education strategies to increase community capacity around disaster and emergency preparation. Recommendation 2 The unique partnership between emergency services and Neighbourhood Centres and other organisations formed to deliver preparedness programmes in the community should continue to be developed and supported by local council, participating organisations and other relevant agencies into the future. Recommendation 3 RESEARCH 3 Neighbourhood Centres, due to their unique community connections and networks, are well placed to incorporate disaster preparedness activities into their core business. As a part of their mandate to build resilient and sustainable individuals and communities, Neighbourhood Centres should be delivering disaster preparedness programmes as part of their core community capacity building business, not as an ‘add-on’ activity. Recommendation 4 4 BSAFE Emergency services, particularly RFS and SES, be encouraged to review their abilities to engage in, support and resource the BSAFE Community Action Framework programmes to be delivered in high seasons e.g. the dedication of an RFS volunteer or community engagement officer able to attend scheduled programmes in bushfire season, even if appliances and more brigade members cannot be rostered to attend. Recommendation 5 5 Meet Your Street is a first contact opportunity which is most effective when held in local neighbourhoods, especially in the lead up to the fire season. All elements of the programme should be maintained, in particular the engagement/discussion and survey tool (Appendix 1) as these provide a stimulus for conversation and for households to think about their level of preparation. Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 39 6 Recommendation 6 More Than a Fire Plan should follow the delivery of Meet Your Street as it can be held in more central areas for larger numbers of people and its aim is to provide more detailed information regarding how to construct a household preparedness plan. It can be promoted at Meet Your Street events. Recommendation 7 7 HUFF should also be promoted at Meet Your Street events, particularly where people nominate themselves as street facilitators. HUFF needs to be instigated within the area by neighbourhoods and requires committed residents to initiate and maintain it. Therefore active advertising for HUFF facilitators should be encouraged at all community fire awareness events. When there are sufficient numbers of interested street facilitators, workshops could be held to train them. Recommendation 8 8 9 As the data collection instruments are already developed, it makes sense that each of the three programmes continues to collect information from their attendees at various points. This information can then be collated and compared with the other programmes and deductions drawn as to the demographic attending, preparation plans and activities proposed, and in the follow up activities making a determination as to how many residents completed fire preparedness plans as a result of attending a programme. Recommendation 9 Further research regarding gender is required to explore the relatively low attendance of men at all programmes. RFS could consider holding programmes at their brigade sheds where men are more likely to attend. Recommendation 10 10 Networking opportunities between volunteer and other organisations need to be explored in order to provide services to the most vulnerable in the community: those on a low income, the frail aged, single parents and people with chronic conditions. Preparedness activities with which they may require assistance including tree removal, gutter cleaning and the like can be managed. The local council needs to better circulate what they are able to provide for vulnerable residents in need of fire preparedness assistance. Recommendation 11 11 The responsibility of a HUFF facilitator for residents in their designated area, and for information they collect as part of the HUFF programme, needs to be clarified through construction of a policy. Responsibility should be no more than raising awareness about the need for a plan and assisting with developing a plan for residents in their designated areas. Photo by Mary-Lou Keating from ‘As The Smoke Clears’ 40 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 41 financials TREASURER REPORT The end of the 2015/2016 financial year for Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative Ltd (SNCC) finds its finances in a healthy state overall. There is a level of uncertainty around Government funding for the years beyond 2017. We know that the government model under which a number of our projects rely on is changing. The Board with Management have been working together to strategically plan ahead to ensure the financial sustainability of SNCC. Wages and salaries, along with associated costs such as Workers Compensation and staff leave entitlements amounted to $647,908 or 57.9% of total expenditure. Tanderra continues to be a financially successful project. Solid finances, along with a hardworking and caring staff means that the service provided is of a high standard and much appreciated by the Springwood community. Further upgrades to the building are planned in the coming year. It could be argued that current bank interest rates do not make it worthwhile to have large sums invested at a relatively low interest rate. Other finance issues SNCC is reviewing include: identifying money which is already committed; how better to use uncommitted money and having money set aside for future planning. An increase in outgoings resulted from a complete staffing relocation into the Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub. In addition, a requirement for SNCC to hire community spaces and venues for our groups and activities, now needs to be factored in to all our future planning. The 2015/2016 year has been quite disruptive for me personally. I have experienced a number of medical issues which has prevented me, at times, in fulfilling my duties fully as a Board Director. I am very appreciative of the extra work placed on our Finance Coordinator, Executive Officer and Chairperson and I thank them for their efforts. Allen Laird | Treasurer 2015/2016 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 41 SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016 DIRECTORS’ REPORT Contents Your directors present this report on the company for the financial year ended 30 June 2016. Directors The names of the directors in office at any time during or since the end of the year are: Directors’ Report Keith Dowling Allen Laird Auditor’s Independence Declaration Alan Crooks Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income Tracy Kane-White Sharon Payne Statement of Financial Position Tracey Willow Statement of Cash Flows Directors have been in office since the start of the financial year to the date of this report unless otherwise stated. Notes to the Financial Statements Operating Result The loss of the company for the financial year after providing for income tax amounted to: Directors’ Declaration Independent Auditor’s Report Year ended Year ended 30 June 2016 30 June 2015 $ $ (8,921.19) 19,000.74 Principal Activities The principal activities of the company during the course of the year were OOSH and the Neighbourhood Centre. No significant change in the nature of these activities occurred during the year. Significant Changes in the State of Affairs No significant changes in the company’s state of affairs occurred during the financial year. After Balance Date Events No matters or circumstances have arisen since the end of the financial year which significantly affected or may significantly affect the operations of the company, the results of those operations, or the state of affairs of the company in subsequent financial years. 42 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 43 SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED DIRECTORS’ REPORT AUDITOR’S INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION Future Developments UNDER SECTION 307C OF THE CORPORATIONS ACT 2001 Environmental Issues I declare that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, during the year ended 30 June 2016 there have been : (i) no contraventions of the auditor independence requirements as set out in the Corporations Act 2001 in relation to the Audit; and (ii) no contraventions of any applicable code of professional conduct in relation to the audit The company expects to maintain the present status and level of operations and hence there are no likely developments in the operations in future financial years. The company’s operations are not regulated by any significant environmental regulation under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory. Dividends No dividends were declared or paid since the start of the financial year. No recommendation for payment of dividends has been made. William Tomiczek & Associates William Tomiczek FIPA, Registered Company Auditor 1425 66 Emu Plains Rd Mt Riverview 2774 Share Options No options over issued shares or interests in the company were granted during or since the end of the financial year and there were no options outstanding at the date of this report. Directors Benefits No director has received or has become entitled to receive, during or since the financial year, a benefit because of a contract made by the company or related body corporate with a director, a firm which a director is a member or an entity in which a director has a substantial financial interest. Indemnifying Officer or Auditor ________________________________________ 29/07/2016 Mt Riverview No indemnities have been given or agreed to be given or insurance premiums paid or agreed to be paid, during or since the end of the financial year, to any person who is or has been an officer or auditor of the company. Proceedings on Behalf of Company No person has applied for leave of Court to bring proceedings on behalf of the company or intervene in any proceedings to which the company is a party for the purpose of taking responsibility on behalf of the company for all or any part of those proceedings. The company was not a party to any such proceedings during the year. Auditors Independence Declaration A copy of the auditor’s independence declaration as required under section 307C of the Corporations Act 2001 has been included. Signed in accordance with a resolution of the Board of Directors: _________________________________ Keith Dowling - Director _________________________________________________ Allen Laird - Director Dated: The ________________________ day of August, 2016. 44 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 45 SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED CONSOLIDATED INCOME & EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2016 CONSOLIDATED INCOME & EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2016 2015/2016 2014/2015 Wages Levy, Adv Levy, Project Worker $122,209.95 Administration Fees/Co-Op Levies $108,043.95 Wages Levy $105,500.47 Advertising $9,300.69 Annual Report $6,773.89 Audit Fees $4,754.55 $86,391.37 $246,785.07 $264,075.72 Child Care Assistance $187,084.27 $167,042.71 $2,043.35 $4,717.25 $62,369.48 $61,579.75 $176,762.68 $173,197.85 $9,118.91 $5,817.34 CVS Health & Aged Care $21,367.50 $21,367.50 Expansion CVS $14,915.26 Fundraising Grants - Ageing, Disability & Home Care Human Services, Community Services ERO Supplement $76.30 Active After School Scheme $2,464.00 HACC - VHV Soc Support - KNC $19,484.20 HACC - Transition VHV $12,000.00 Groups CVS $23,174.93 $6,789.26 Resilience & Vulnerability Project $170.00 $19,484.20 $21,528.00 Bounce Back Project $29,659.75 Fire Works Art Project $33,700.00 More than a Fire Plan - NRMA Grant Exercise Classes/ General Classes BMCC Community Donation $10,000.00 $2,915.75 $1,734.00 $1,500.00 $1,500.00 Science at the local $10,144.43 Small Grants - BMCC (Fire) $18,638.86 HS-CS Operating $9,184.96 $9,184.96 $3,400.00 $3,632.11 CDSE Grant Community Development $515.93 $2,400.00 $11,509.81 $11,420.07 Dementia Support Interest Received $250.00 $11,554.99 $10,120.99 Members Subscriptions $355.00 $175.00 Photocopy, Fax, Computer & Laminating $466.93 $300.78 $2,126.87 $7.18 $310.91 $6,592.98 Operational Income Program Income Insurance Claim- Flood $9,065.71 Social Enterprise Income Consortium - BLINN Unexpended funds, brought forward $31,257.05 $3,360.00 $4,210.00 $46,478.27 $1,471.11 Sundry Income $2,620.92 $1,109,601.45 $1,037,773.34 Cleaning - Tanderra Community Development Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive $4,300.00 $189.33 $188.90 $17,616.60 $17,076.00 $360.00 $18,044.90 Computer R&M $12,342.17 $1,293.59 Consultancy $18,269.83 $41,908.00 Consumables/Programs/Craft $27,348.46 $26,917.71 Electricity, Gas,Water & Rates $2,885.19 $2,061.28 $815.27 $1,206.39 Emergency Relief Exp $1,541.00 Excursions/Workshop Facilitators $9,518.32 $7,234.50 $23,632.84 General Expenses $5,500.00 $548.64 Insurances $9,274.77 $7,536.04 $272.73 $734.22 Internet / Website Lease - Building $3,812.51 Minor Equipment $5,633.63 Move $4,221.26 $12,804.54 Photocopier Lease Project Expenses Publications & Reference Material Repairs & Maintenance, Renovations $3,282.60 $3,282.60 $20,775.50 $15,441.19 $7,677.81 $39,691.30 $12,430.80 $23,132.01 $15,290.68 $566,564.09 $545,496.69 Staff Expenses, Uniforms & Supervision $1,077.21 $1,229.53 Subscriptions $1,426.05 $2,647.19 Superannuation $51,027.69 $49,933.02 Venue Hire $11,393.91 $6,538.30 Workers Compensation $9,844.23 $9,391.58 Telephone $8,413.44 $9,906.16 Training & Conferences $2,633.88 $2,584.40 $171.57 $2,109.99 Volunteer Travel $5,134.56 $2,431.85 Volunteer/ Client Expenses $2,425.50 $1,144.00 $12,996.09 $13,747.65 -$30,316.36 -$5,496.51 Salaries & Wages Travel Non Cash Expenses Depreciation on Fixed Assets Staff Leave Entitlements Unexpended Funds SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) 46 $4,297.67 $2,164.37 Bank Charges Postage / Stationery / Printing Other - non-recurrent Blue Fringe Income AAS Sport Events $7,122.50 Renewal Project Income HACC - VHV Support KNC $116,248.12 $116,470.12 Child Care Fees Donations - General, Rooms, Drop-in Lounge 2014/2015 EXPENDITURE INCOME Administration Fees - Co-Op 2015/2016 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive $23,782.32 $45,880.39 $1,118,522.64 $1,018,772.60 -$8,921.19 $19,000.74 47 SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 30TH JUNE 2016 STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW 30 JUNE 2016 2015/2016 2014/2015 Current Assets Cash Flow From Operating Activities Cash at bank Bendigo Bank cheque a/c $130,532.51 $197,254.34 Bendigo Cash Card -Tan $2,294.52 $3,240.36 Bendigo Cash Card -Co-Op CBA cheque a/c Term Deposit Cash on hand $974.41 $14,836.43 $6,527.96 $313,759.29 $320,000.00 $462,397.16 $527,022.66 $862.80 Interest Receivable Debtors Total Current Assets $862.80 Buildings at cost Payments to suppliers and employees 2015 $1,056,084 $1,007,480 1,132,264 982,730 -76,180 24,750 11,555 10,121 Cash Flow From Financing Activities $3,959.00 $1,382.00 $364.00 $464,641.96 $532,208.46 $700,000.00 $700,000.00 Non Current Assets Freehold Land – Raymond Road Receipts from customers, grants and other income 2016 $743,094.34 $743,094.34 Less Accumulated depreciation -$336,121.00 -$325,686.00 Office Furniture & Equipment $180,062.89 $180,062.89 Less Accumulated depreciation -$165,369.73 -$162,808.64 Total Non Current Assets $1,121,666.50 $1,134,662.59 Total Assets $1,586,308.46 $1,666,871.05 $31,013.53 $19,437.34 $2,536.65 $1,015.14 Interest Received Purchase plant and equipment 0 -64,625 10,121 Cash at start of year -64,625 34,871 Cash at the end of the year 527,885 493,014 $463,260 $527,885 Net decrease in cash held Current Liabilities Grants in Advance GST Payable Holding Deposits $15,620.00 $7,506.27 Leave Provisions $61,554.51 $86,386.08 Superannuation Payable $12,539.91 $12,539.91 $4,826.00 $2,794.00 PAYG Payable Interest Provisions - Other $1,031.79 $1,906.82 $1,906.82 $373,938.75 $312,962.78 Total Liabilities $503,936.17 $445,580.13 Total Liabilities $503,936.17 $445,580.13 Net Assets $1,212,369.71 $1,221,290.90 $521,290.90 $502,290.16 -$8,921.19 $19,000.74 $700,000.00 $700,000.00 $1,212,369.71 $1,221,290.90 Unexpended Funds Equity Retained Earnings Current Year Earnings Revaluation Reserve Total Equity 48 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 49 SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016 Note 1: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED is a company limited by shares, incorporated and domiciled in Australia. The financial statements were authorised for issue on 29 July, 2016 by the directors of the company. Basis of Preparation SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2016 All dividends received shall be recognised as revenue when the right to receive the dividend has been established. Revenue recognition relating to the provision of services is determined with reference to the stage of completion of the transaction at the end of the reporting period and where the outcome of the contract can be estimated reliably. Stage of completion is determined with reference to the services performed to date as a percentage of total anticipated services to be performed. Where the outcome cannot be estimated reliably, revenue is recognised only to the extent that related expenditure is recoverable. The directors have prepared the financial statements on the basis that the company is a non-reporting entity because there are no users dependant on general purpose financial statements. The financial statements are therefore special purpose financial statements that have been prepared in order to meet the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001. Investment property revenue is recognised on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease term so as to reflect a constant periodic rate of return on the investment. The company is a for-profit entity for financial reporting purposes under Australian Accounting Standards. (c) The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the mandatory Australian Accounting Standards applicable to entities reporting under the Corporations Act 2001 and the significant accounting policies disclosed below, which the directors have determined are appropriate to meet the needs of members. Such accounting policies are consistent with the previous period unless stated otherwise. Revenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of GST, except where the amount of GST incurred is not recoverable from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The financial statements, except for cash flow information, have been prepared on an accruals basis and are based on historical costs unless otherwise stated in the notes. The material accounting policies that have been adopted in the preparation of the statements are as follows: Accounting Policies All revenue is stated net of the amount of goods and services tax (GST). Goods and Services Tax (GST) Receivables and payables are stated inclusive of the amount of GST receivable or payable. The net amount of GST recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO is included with other receivables or payables in the statement of financial position. Cash flows are presented on a gross basis. The GST components of cash flows arising from investing or financing activities which are recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO are presented as operating cash flows included in receipts from customers or payments to suppliers. (a) Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within short-term borrowings in current liabilities on the statement of financial position. (b) Revenue and Other Income Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable after taking into account any trade discounts and volume rebates allowed. Any consideration deferred is treated as the provision of finance and is discounted at a rate of interest that is generally accepted in the market for similar arrangements. The difference between the amount initially recognised and the amount ultimately received is interest revenue. Interest revenue is recognised using the effective interest method, which for floating rate financial assets is the rate inherent in the instrument. 50 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 51 SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED DIRECTORS’ DECLARATION INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT The directors have determined that the company is not a reporting entity and that this special purpose financial report should be prepared in accordance with the accounting policies prescribed in Note 1 to the financial statements. The directors of the company declare that: We have audited the accompanying financial report, being a special purpose financial report, of SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED (the company), which comprises the Directors’ Declaration, the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income, the Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Cash Flows, Statement of Changes In Equity, notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, for the year ended 30 June 2016. 1. the financial statements and notes are in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001: Directors’ Responsibility for the Financial Report (a) comply with Accounting Standards described in Note 1 to the financial statements and the Corporations Regulations; and (b) give a true and fair view of the company’s financial position as at 30 June 2016 and of its performance for the year ended on that date in accordance with the accounting policies described in Note 1 to the financial statements. 2. in the directors’ opinion, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the company will be able to pay its debts as and when they become due and payable. This declaration is made in accordance with a resolution of the Board of Directors. _________________________________________________ Keith Dowling - Director The directors of the company are responsible for the preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view and have determined that the accounting policies described in Note 1 of the financial report are appropriate to meet the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 and to meet the needs of the members. The directors’ responsibility also includes such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of a financial report that gives a true and fair view and is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. Auditor’s Responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. Those Standards require that we comply with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial report is free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the company’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view, in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion. ________________________________________________ Allen Laird - Director Dated: The __________________ day of August, 2016 52 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 53 SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT Independence In conducting our audit, we have complied with the independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001. We confirm that the independence declaration required by the Corporations Act 2001, which has been given to the directors of SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED, would be in the same terms if given to the directors as at the time of the auditor’s report. Opinion In our opinion the financial report of SPRINGWOOD NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED is in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, including: (a) giving a true and fair view of the company’s financial position as at 30 June 2016 and of its performance for the year ended on that date in accordance with the accounting policies described in Note 1; and (b) complying with Australian Accounting Standards to the extent described in Note 1 and complying with the Corporations Regulations 2001. Basis of Accounting Without modifying our opinion, we draw attention to Note 1 to the financial report, which describes the basis of accounting. The financial report has been prepared for the purpose of fulfilling the directors’ financial reporting responsibilities under the Corporations Act 2001. As a result, the financial report may not be suitable for another purpose. Signed on :29th of July 2016 Signed: William Tomiczek _________________________________________________ William Tomiczek FIPA, Registered Company Auditor 1425 William Tomiczek & Associates 66 Emu Plains Rd Mt Riverview 2774 54 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive volunteers OUR VOLUNTEERS THANKING SNCC VOLUNTEERS SNCC is passionate about volunteering. We recognise the integral role volunteers play in delivering effective local services within our community. Since SNCC began 38 years ago, community volunteers have been actively involved in our activities that enhance community connections and resilience. These activities include social support which connect people through music, art, leisure or health activities, community events and fundraisers and education programs such as computer tutoring. Volunteers also assist with office administration, centre promotion, providing information, advocacy, referrals and emergency and food help. During the 2015/2016 financial year, our organisation was fortunate to have been resourced by over 100 remarkable people; whose combined skills and generosity has enabled SNCC to be the vital community hub it is today. There is growing evidence to suggest that people who volunteer tend to live longer and live better. The sense of satisfaction in “serving,” having meaningful connections with numerous other people and the pleasure in doing interesting work, all have a positive impact on both individual health and community resilience. The benefits received from Volunteering: »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» developing work experience increasing social interaction and meeting people experiencing something new learning new skills, improving existing skills and keeping your mind active sharing knowledge and experiences gaining a sense of purpose and a sense of belonging becoming better acquainted with the community giving back to the community and assisting others getting back into the workforce being useful and helpful reducing loneliness and isolation improving health and wellbeing Volunteer Thank You Event In December 2015, SNCC staff and volunteers baked, prepared their Christmas specialty dishes for our “A Very Festive Morning Tea” for over 70 volunteers. Keith Dowling, chairperson of SNCC, presented awards to our volunteers who had served the community for over 5, 10 and 20 years! Highlights at this special event was the trivia quiz won by the Talking Gazette group and hearing the stories behind the dishes staff and volunteers had prepared. All were superbly entertained by young children from Carinya Pre-school. Volunteering Training and National Standards SNCC conducted several training sessions for its volunteers over the 2015/2016 year. One of the most popular training sessions was “Burn Out” conducted by Jewel Jones who emphasised the importance of self-care and boundaries. Jewel Jones has been counselling for over 17 years and is a fully accredited Senior Clinical Member of PACFA (Australia’s peak body for counsellors and psychotherapists). SNCC supports and integrates the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement, which have the following eight categories: »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» 56 Leadership and management Commitment to volunteer involvement Volunteer roles Recruitment and selection Support and development Workplace safety and wellbeing Volunteer recognition Quality management and continuous improvement Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 57 OUR VOLUNTEERS NAME Community Visitors Scheme Jill Hogwood Chris Hughes Jenny Hughes Marion Hughes Rona Hulbert POSITION NAME Board Directors Alan Crooks Patricia King Keith Dowling Alison Korbula Tracy Kane-White Wendy Lenthen Allen John Laird Noreen Mason Sharon Payne Rosemary Phillips Tracey Willow Lynne White Margaret Buchanan* Jennifer Willis Cecily Michaels* Photography Peter Hartman Michael Niblett* Projects - administration Vivian Baruch Frances Banyard Facilitators Melanie Van Kessel Kay Briggs Wendy Lenthen Jan Campbell Jody Haeden Carol Carroll Rachel Merton John Carter Zita Olalia Alison Korbula Simon Lenthen Ann Ludbrooke Mark Hand Noreen Mason Christeen Hull Richard Merchant Nicole Giezekamp Russell Searle Sheryl Orgias Alyssa Smith Heather Smith Deirdre Stapleton Laurette Lideros Lynne White Rachel Merton Lyndall Ayres Anne Fell Anne Cawley Valda Hickey John Cawley Cheryl Hyde Alfonso De Hombre Ellissa Nolan Willemine Drage Kathy Driscoll Margaret Emmanuel Chris Hughes Vicki Glew Renata Bros Jennie Hall Elizabeth Godleman Centre Reception Community Visitors Scheme 58 POSITION The Healing Quilt - made by community members Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive 59 POSITION NAME Talking Gazette Patricia Allen Heather Dickson Alastair Fyfe Sheila Fyfe Colin Hyndes Jenny Hyndes Pamela Lammin Janette Parry Jacqueline Shimmell Dianne Thorpe Noeleen Udall Josiah Bamfer Tim Quinn Smyth Colin Williams Timebanking Coordination Russell Searle Volunteer Home Visitors Frances Banyard Carol Carroll Peter Crowe Jeff Dargan Michael Gallen Robin Green Chris Hughes Dorothy Huolohan Laura Jones Alison Korbula Suzanne Langford Estelle Macintosh *08/16 Igor Mercier Agnes Ryan Judith Sanbrook Phiona Stone Henry Howard Wilson Lauren Wilson Tanderra Yard Maintenance Adelaide 60 Striving for a community that is vibrant, caring and inclusive OUR LOGO For many of you the story behind our logo may not be immediately apparent. Our logo was designed to be representational of SNCC’s core values and mission. This underpins our community work and service provision. The three over lapping “bones”: vibrant, caring and inclusive show the three main attributes we strive to achieve and the manner we engage, support and strengthen our community. Striving for a community that is... Caring Vibrant Inclusive est.1978 Ground Floor, Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub 104-108 Macquarie Road, Springwood NSW 2777 PO Box 220 Springwood NSW 2777 Phone +61 2 47513033 Fax: + 61 2 4751 6957 Email: [email protected] facebook.com/SpringwoodNeighbourhoodCentre www.sncc.org.au ABN 46 838 912 486
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