Hi everyone,

We are just about prepared for our AGM tonight at 6pm! We are super grateful for all the work that our committee has put in in the last few weeks with reports and so forth. If you would like to come along to hear about what we’ve been doing this year (as well as for a spot of dinner!) then please book in at this link (before 12pm today).

This week we are wrapping up our programs for the term … so we hope to see you all at our last sessions of Heart-Centred Breathwork, CRUNCH and Cook by the Book. And we would like to thank Fran for hosting The Momentum to Write which has been such an awesome class for us to have here this term.

In other exciting news, I’m going to Timor-Leste with Friends of Baucau from the 5th-11th of September! Friends of Baucau is an amazing friendship organisation that connects the cities of Darebin and Yarra here in Victoria with the Municipality of Baucau in Timor-Leste. The purpose of the connection is to be provide shared learning and support. This will be a wonderful opportunity to talk to a range of local community leaders and community led organisations that are similarly operating at the hyper-local level, supporting women, families, youth, arts projects, permaculture programs and more. Last time I went (before Covid) it was an amazing and inspiring experience, and I hope I can learn a lot and come back with lots of great ideas again this time.

Whilst I am away Lee will be leading the Op-Shop tour (read on for more info…) which I will be super sad to miss out on! It is always lots of fun (and I LOVE op shopping).

Okay, that’s it this week. Hope to see you soon.

Cheers Leanne

Hi everyone,

We had a particularly gardeny productive week last week with Community Lunch (where we cooked a yummy Thai meal with vegetables from our garden) and Preserves Group … we made cumquat marmalade, lime marmalade AND tomato relish. Big thanks to Margaret for donating the cumquats and to Megan for donating the limes. Pop in and buy some of our excellent (not bragging - it is good!) marmalade if you like.

We are going to have our Annual General Meeting next Monday the 31st of August. Anyone who is interested is welcome to come along. It’s free, but you need to RSVP by booking in online at this link.

Also coming up in our calendar we are going to be running another of our Op-Shop Adventures on Thursday the 10th of September. These events are $10 and include lunch after a fun day out shopping. Book in online here.

And this week, we look forward to seeing you all at:

• Heart-Centred Breathwork with John on Tuesday from 7.30-8.30am (book in here).

• Line Dancing at Alphington Scout Hall on Wednesday at 10am-12pm.

• Alphington Playgroup here at ACC on Wednesday at 10am-12pm.

• U3A Armchair Theatre on Wednesday from 12-2pm.

• Cardboard Playgroup on Thursday at 10am-12pm.

• Cook by the Book on Thursday from 11.30am-1pm (book in here).

• CRUNCH on Thursday from 12.30-2pm (book in here).

• Embracing Life and Death on Thursday from 1-3pm (contact eoldoulasinmelb@gmail.com).

• Community Morning on Friday from 10am-1pm.

Lastly, here’s another link to the Yarra Council website - this time featuring Rob in the video. Thanks Rob, for talking about why you come along to ACC and why neighbourhood houses are great places for social connection.

Cheers Leanne

Phew … we’re recovering from the Winter Art Salon this week … a fabulous and very busy few days (check out the separate post for photos etc.) and we hope you made it along to see all the beautiful art and local talent for yourself!

Speaking of local talent, Yarra Council came along and interviewed Marlene a couple of weeks ago at Crunch - check out the little video they made here. Thanks Marlene for being such a good sport (and saying such lovely things about us) when put on the spot!

And of course time doesn’t stand still here at ACC … we’re straight into another action packed week.

Of note:

• Preserves Group on Tuesday at 1pm. I think we’re making cumquat marmalade.

• Alphington Arts on Thursday night from 7.30pm. Come along and get arty! Have a chat etc.

• Also two Book Clubs on Monday and Tuesday evening given it’s the 3rd week of the month!

• And all the usual things - playgroups, toy library, art classes, music lessons, play reading, choir, line dancing, community lunch, gardening. AAA Arts etc.

Finally … our AGM is coming up on 31st August. We look forward to reviewing the year with a quick slide show, ticking off the finances … and we’ll share some food etc. Book in and come along if you’d like to help us celebrate what we’ve been up to over the last 12 months.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Cheers Leanne

Hi everyone,

We had a great time last Thursday cooking up a Korean feast at Cook by the Book! Rob thinks it might have been our best collective cooking effort yet!

It was also super (if somewhat chaotic - because I forgot they were coming) to have Yarra Council staff along to do some video interviews about how ace neighbourhood houses are - for a loneliness week campaign they are putting together. We’ll share the material when they publish it! They also stayed for our yummy Korean lunch and it was great to have a chat with them.

Thanks so much to Jamie from Kew High who was here doing work experience with us for the week. He was a super conversationalist and worked really hard. It really was a pleasure to have him here!

This week we’ve got lots on including:

• Heart-Centred Breathwork on Tuesday at 7.30am (we’ve set up a weekly payment option for this now so you can come along and give it a try)

• Line Dancing at Alphington Scout Hall on Wednesday from 10am-12pm

• Playtime in the Garden, also on Wednesday from 10am-12pm

• U3A Armchair Theatre on Wednesday from 1pm-3pm

• Cardboard Playgroup on Thursday from 10am-12pm

• Cook by the Book on Thursday from 11.30am-1pm

• CRUNCH on Thursday from 12.30pm-2pm

• Alphingtones Choir at St. Andrew’s Church on Thursday from 7.30pm-9pm

• Community Morning on Friday from 10am-1pm

To find out more and book in online, please visit our website at this link.

Cheers Leanne

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