At Alphington Community Centre we have been working with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre for may years now.

I can remember when the Fairfield Girl Guides Hall was still around, and I used to drop my darlings off there for dancing and the ASRC volunteer was also there each week to accept community donations.

When the Guides Hall was demolished, Becca invited that volunteer, the ‘old Andy’ (that is, the person back then who did the role that Andy does now) to park out the front of ACC, so he could come in and use the loos, and have a coffee … and feel like he had a home base again. And she provided a storage location so that non-perishable food could be dropped off throughout the week. And this is how ACC became a formal ASRC donation site.

That was probably 8 or 9 years ago I’d guess. And here we are today. Still doing the same thing.

There are lots of kind-hearted and generous people and organisations in our community who recognise that anyone who has had to flee their homeland must have seen tragedy and experienced hardship beyond our imagining - and also realise that asylum seekers in Australia are now stuck in an impossible situation, unsure of where they stand, unable to work and also without a government safety net for all the basics. So they take the time to regularly shop for them, and provide them with a bag of rice (and compassion) or shampoo and conditioner (and love) tins of tuna (and hope) or jar of honey (and care).

If you too would like make life a little easier for someone who is struggling in a sea of uncertainty, you can drop off non-perishable foods with us inside any time we are open. After hours (or in lockdown) you can leave donations in the dark grey roller door shed just inside our back garden. And Andy is here on Thursdays from 10am -12pm so you can also drop off perishable food then (like fresh fruit and vegies etc.). He’ll then take the whole lot over to the ASRC in Footscray for distribution.

If you are wondering what to donate, think about what you purchase each time you’re at the supermarket for your family - rice, pasta, tinned tomatoes and legumes, breakfast cereal, tinned tuna, peanut butter, honey, olive oil, herbs and spices, coffee and tea, toiletries etc. These basic staples that enable you to cook nutritious food for your family and keep clean and tidy are just the things that these families are wanting in their cupboards too.

To find out more about the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre click here.

STREAT is a food-system social enterprise that offers work readiness and employment programs for disengaged young people who want to work.

Thay are based in Cromwell Street in Collingwood. Programs coming up include:
 
Taste of STREAT - a two hour interactive workshop for young people (and accompanying workers) who are interested in STREAT’s Ready to Work program and keen to learn a little bit more to help them decide if it's right for them. 
Date: Friday 25th June 10:30am - 12:30pm
RSVP by: 18th June
 
Intro to Work - an eight week individual program for people wanting to access hospitality
or horticulture focused work experience with weekly individual support. This is a roll-in/roll-out program that runs throughout the year.
Accepting referrals now!
 
Ready to Work - a 20 week fully supported group program for young people seeking work in hospitality. It includes on-the-job training, accredited training (Cert II in Hospitality), work readiness workshops, creative and social engagement, individual case support and referral. Plus guaranteed employment opportunities for graduates through the Paid to Work program!
Commencing: Tuesday 27th July 2021
Accepting referrals now!
 
Paid to Work - a six-month program offering Ready to Work graduates an opportunity to transition into 20-25 hours a week of paid employment facilitated through one of our partner employers.

Job Club - a weekly drop-in session for young people wanting individual assistance with looking for work (eg. help with resumes, cover letters, job search sites). No booking necessary – just drop in! Every Friday 1pm - 3pm.

If you are interested in finding out more you can visit their website here.

Hi friends, well we’re all back to appreciating our local neighbourhood for a week hey?

At ACC we’re primarily working from home, but are still here to help. Feel free to give us a call on 9499 7227 or send us an email if you need anything. We’ve got some meals in the freezer we’d be happy to deliver etc.

Also note that there is a whole network of support infrastructure that is now well-established in our neck of the woods if you need a hand.

This guide published by Darebin Council outlines services for food relief, shelters and support for families experiencing violence, community legal service links and more.

You can also call Council on 8470 8888 and ask for the Community Navigation Service to access in-person help.

If you need food support another good place to start is Darebin Information Volunteer Resource Service (DIVRS) on 9480 8200, Monday – Thursday between 9.30am -12.30pm. You may need to leave a message with your name and contact details but you will receive a call back the same day.

You can also contact:

• Encompass Care, Bundoora: 0422 461 847

• Northern Community CareWorks, Preston: 9484 4788

• Salvation Army – Emergency Relief, Preston: 9471 9111

• St Vincent de Paul - Call Centre: 1800 305 330

We look forward to seeing you back at ACC on the other side.

Look after yourself.

Our paving completed … why not pass by and admire it on your lockdown 4 walk! You could also grab a book from the book library or check out the seeds in the seed library and do some autumn planting.

Our garden is coming along.

And with exciting plans and opportunities we hope more volunteers will come to enjoy time pottering in the garden here at ACC into the future.

Katrina and her special helper lent a hand when the soft mulch arrived and needed to be spread a few weeks ago.

Along with Jenny and Phil who mowed and mulched the never ending sea of leaves, Anne who planted and weeded and Demisse who also tackled the leaves - our garden is now getting wrangled into shape.

Volunteers are an invaluable resource for places like our community centre. Great things get done when they are here to help.

Cardamon and other raw spices

We were very thrilled for Manu that her Chai and Marsala Chai workshop went so well last weekend. It was a lovely experience for participants who learnt not just how to make chai, but also gained a whole lot of cultural insight from Manu as she explained chai properties and history.

Congratulations Manu on your first workshop here at Alphington Community Centre. We hope it will be the first of many.

Here are some photos I snapped during the workshop. We are excited to think of what you can teach us next!

Did you know that sweet and milky chai is best accompanied by savoury food? Manu made samosas and other savoury snacks for participants to enjoy while tasting the Chai.