Dementia Australia is coming to visit us on Thursday the 17th of September for an information session about dementia and memory loss, covering brain health, practical tips, support services and more. It will be led by Leigh Mankey who is a Dementia Support Specialist.

This conversation will be a free event, and bookings can be made online here at our website.

The presentation will run from 1.30-3pm. We hope you can join us if you are interested for yourself or someone you love.

Your Community Health has recently been in contact with us about a program called Seniors Lifestyle Victoria that is being offered through them until June 2028 (that’s ages away right?).

The program is for people over 65 who live in the community with mild to moderate changes in health who would like support to improve their health and wellbeing.

If this is you (or someone you know and love) you can contact Your Community Health to access a care coordinator who will work with you to develop a personalised plan, with local services tailored to meet your individual needs and goals - how great is that!?!

To find out more scroll through the information below or visit the following links:

https://www.yourch.org.au/services/seniors-lifestyle-victoria/

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/seniors-lifestyle-victoria/

Kids First has recently contacted us about some of the programs they run and the resources they offer. Here is the link to their website. And check out the brochures attached to find out more about some of the specific programs they offer.

Our Semester 2 schedule for the Embracing Life and Death Discussion Series is here! Join us over afternoon tea on the last Thursday of each month at the Alphington Community Centre as End-of-Life Doulas facilitate conversations focussing on a different theme each month  — in a space that's warm, welcoming, and open to wherever the conversation takes us.

27 August: Voluntary Assisted Dying: Dignity and Choice

24 September: Funerals and body disposal: Options  and new approaches

29 October: Bereavement: Living with grief and loss

26 November: Dementia: Your voice, your wishes, your future

📅 Last Thursday of each month
🕡 1:00 - 2:30 pm
📍 Alphington Community Centre, 2 Kelvin Rd Alphington 3078

🎟 Free, but registration is essential via e-mail to eoldoulasinmelb@gmail.com

Hi all it has been lovely to be back at work and see lots of people this week. We’ve been getting very organised - programs, admin, supplies, ideas … all the things! And thank you so much to Akimbo Bakery for their awesome donation of bread dropped off this week.

We’ve got one more week until all our short courses and such things kick off. So please enrol. Here’s some things to think about …

• Cardboard Playgroup - Thursdays 10.30am-12pm. Lee is in the process of making some cute things from cardboard for our Thursday playgroup session. Each week she plans to add something new - at least for a while. Come along and check it out.

• We’ll be doing printmaking this term at CRUNCH … how fun! All welcome. Join us on Thursdays for lunch at 12.30pm before we head out to the Community Shed for some creative fun. Only $75 for 6 weeks, including lunch - what a bargain! Book in online here.

• Cook by the Book - this term we are going to explore Charmaine Soloman’s Complete Asian Cookbook. It is a favourite of mine and has great recipes, many of which were written back when ‘all the things’ were not readily available in Australian supermarkets - so the recipes are delicious but are often made with a handful of staple ingredients and include ideas for how to swap things out if you can’t find them easily. Her recipes are sorted by country - so we’ll explore a different one each week. It is going to be super! And delicious. YUM. Book in online here.

• The Momentum to Write - have you got a story brewing in the back of your mind? This a great opportunity to begin the writing process, or if you have already started something, to get a bit of a boost. Fran is lovely and very talented. Book in online here.

Also of note … we’ve got Preserves Group coming up this week on Tuesday at 1pm … and with a donation of lemons from Wendy’s tree (thanks so much Wendy) we’ll definitely be making some preserved lemon. If you have any produce you could send our way please let us know … we love thinking that our preserves come straight from neighbourhood gardens! If you’d like to join in Preserves Group please come along!

Also … we’ve opened up the artist registration form for the Alphington Winter Art Salon at this link here. If you are an artist please enter some works! It’s a fun and friendly event open for anyone, and it showcases 2D and 3D artworks.

And we’re asking for donations of tiles for a new mosaic project (read the post below for the details of what we are after).

Hope you have a great week. See you soon I hope.

Cheers Leanne