Milpara Korumburra's Community House

Welcome 2023, it’s feeling like it going to be a fantastic year at Milpara Community House.  It was fabulous to be back in the house last week and seeing loads of familiar and new faces.  A number of our regular activities and courses commenced including Sunshine Spreaders now on Monday mornings, Games and Giggles Tuesday afternoons, Milpara Singers Wednesday afternoons, Mahjong alternating Wednesday mornings and Monday evenings and of course Crafts with Barb on Friday afternoons.

This week First Aid will be held on Tuesday February 7, and again on April 11, remember bookings are done direct with Victorian First Aid, let us know if you need their contact information. We are trying something different this term with our Death Cafe on a weeknight and in the evening, it will be held this Wednesday at 7 pm (Feb 8). Also this week we welcome back the Korumburra Craft Group who meet on the 2^nd and 4^th Thursday of the month from 10.30 am.  Lastly we have our Colour Wisdom Workshop on Sunday Feb 19, bookings are essential and places limited, give us a call to book your place asap.

Coming up next week we hope to have an in-person Food Safety Level 1 and Supervisors on Thursday February 16, please book your place as soon as possible, minimum numbers are required.  We also hope to commence French Classes Thursday evenings 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm.  It was amazing to see the results of last terms Pencil and Charcoal Portraits Class, so we are really pleased to be offering it again, this term we have a morning and after school class.  It will run over 6 weeks starting Tuesday February 14, mornings 10 am – 12.30pm, afternoons 3.30pm – 6 pm.

If you would like any more information or make a booking please call Milpara 5655 2524. Or we have the booking links below!

WOW what a year, it’s been full on right to the end. With the last activities in the house finishing up today we say a fond goodbye to 2022. We all need to rest up and take a well earned break before we kick off for what’s looking like an exciting 2023.

As you may have noticed there have been some delays in the new Korumburra Community Hub build so you’ll still find us at 21 Shellcot Road Korumburra for a while longer. Currently expecting to transition in June/July.

While Milpara is not open for normal house activities over the school break, Centrelink and Emergency Foodbank will still be avaialbe on Tuesdays 10 am – 2 pm and Wednesdays/Thursdays 10 am – 1 pm. Milpara will open for Term 1 2023 on Monday January 30. Until then the staff and volunteers of Milpara would like to wish you all a safe and happy silly season, look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Milpara Term 1 2023 Program is now available to download – online enrolments should be open by 5 pm Thursday December 21.

We’re excited to be introducing some new sessions this term.  The first Tea and Tarot is today Tuesday October 11 but do not worry if you missed it, it will be running on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of the month.  It’s a new opportunity for likeminded, or those who are inquisitive, to gather and learn more in a friendly informal setting.  Enjoy a cuppa and mini reading in the company of others fascinated by Tarot, Oracle and other Metaphysical Mysteries.  You are welcome to bring your own cards, and if uncertain how to use them, Susan will help, you understand how to connect.

We are running a Cuppa and Mutta out of business hours this term,  it will be held on Thursday October 15 at 5.30 pm. Please let us know if you are coming 5655 2524.  Whether you’re new to the area or just want to catch-up and meet some new people, come join us for a cuppa and slice of cake. 

We are excited to be running a series of colour workshops this term, Colour Wisdom, Colour Healing and Colour with Style.  The first is Colour Wisdom Sunday October 16 or Tuesday November 15. Colour knowledge for everyday living.  You will learn to understand which colours affect our daily lives and our responses to colour.  Learn about the Principles, Power and Energy of Colour, Psychology of Colour and the Language of Colour as well as using a Colour Wheel, creating colours with paints and more.

 Rachel is back and would like to help people improve their capacity to speak and understand French for Beginners.  Eight Friday evenings starting October 14.

It’s exciting to be back in the house for Term 4 2022.

We have a variety of activities on offer. We’ve broken it down into to regular activities and Short Courses start dates and Information session to make it easy to you to work out what you might like to participate in.

Next week we have our first Tea and Tarrot, a new fortnighly activity. French Classes we hope will kick off Friday evenings at 6.30 – 8.30 pm – numbers pending and we are running our Cuppa and Mutta after hours Thursday 5.30 pm – 6.30 pm.

Well that’s a wrap for Term 3! Term 4 will be special and it may very well be last here at 21 Shellcot Road, Korumburra as Milpara will be relocating into the Korumburra Community Hub in the new year. It’s a big change.

Milpara is of course closed during the school break ; Centrelink will still operate normal hours – closed on public holidays, and Emergency Foodbank can be accessed at these times. We are excited though to be back on October 3 for Term 4.

Some high lights include: New Colour workshops with Susanne, Colour Wisdom, Colour Healing and Colour with Style. We have a new fortnightly group we hope to kick off for likeminded or inquisitive people ‘Tea and Tarot’. Learn to sew classes are back, this time with two themes, Children’s Clothes or Christmas.

NAVIGATOR AND HOUSE OPERATIONS ASSISTANT

If you enjoy working with people, are self-motivated, can think outside the square, have good communication and problem solving skills, as well as an understanding of the diversity of community and the range of barriers that can have an impact on anybody’s lives, we’d love to hear from you.

Position Description is available at milparacommunityhouse.org.au,

via email to milpara@dcsi.net.au or via phone on 5655 2524.

Applications close 5 September 2022 at 5 pm.

Brrr its chilli and we know that it is so tempting to turn the heater up but instead it is more effective to put an extra layer on.   Did you know that for every degree above 20 could add 10% to your heating bill? So check your thermostat in winter it should be set at 18 – 20 degrees and in summer 26 or above.  Other great tips are close the doors, or even pull the curtains and turn the heater off if you are leaving.  Personally, I am also a huge fan of clothing layers, singlets are my winter go too and scarfs that add a dash of colour as well as warmth.

We are coming up to the deadline for people to claim the current phase of the $250 Power Saving Bonus program for concession recipients, which remains open until 30 June 2022. Pensioner Concession Card and some Health Care Card holders (including JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Austudy and Abstudy recipients) can apply for the current $250 Power Saving Bonus.  So please, if you haven’t already pop into Milpara with your electricity bill, concession card and bank account details (where you would like your payment made) and we are very happy to help. 

The Victorian Government has announced that a new phase of the $250 Power Saving Bonus program will open on 1 July 2022.  This means you will again be able to apply for another $250.  An important change is that this new phase will be open to all Victorian Households, we are waiting to find out more details, Milpara will be able to help you process your application.

Its volunteer week and boy do we have some excellent volunteers here at Milpara whom we are super proud of and terribly grateful for.  Contrary to popular belief Milpara is not run by a big faceless government department or the shire, we actually have a fantastic group of volunteers who make up our Committee Of Governance (Milpara COG).  So it really isn’t an understatement when we say with-out volunteers we’d have no Milpara.  We also have a great bunch of volunteers who support the day to day operations of the house.  From smiling faces at reception, helpful bubbly tutors, people bussing around doing gardening, restocking foodbank, sorting of files and too many other things to mention but generally keeping the staff inline and well supported.  It’s can’t be said enough THANKYOU for all you do because together we all make Milpara a wonderful place.

In addition to wonderful volunteers, we have amazing participants. We were really pleased to celebrate Neighbourhood House last week with an art exhibition and pop up classes in the Korumburra Federation Gallery.  It was a fantastic opportunity to show-case and highlight some of the amazing work of participants and the pop up sessions were a lot of fun. We finished with week with a wonderful morning tea on the Saturday morning, it was amazing to see those who could attend and we acknowledge many faces were missing due to COVID, and finally being away after previous COVID cancellations. 

If you’re yet to come and find out how awesome Milpara is, we think it’s time you did personally.  Pop in for a visit 21 Shellcott Road Korumburra or visit our website (www.milparacommunityhouse.org.au) to see what activities might be for you.  We are really lucky to offer a great variety and are always interested in adding new things. Milpara 5655 2524.

Milpara Community House stands with our LGBTQIA+ community. We pledge to never stay silent about LGBTQIA+ discrimination and will take positive steps to be part of the solution. Milpara provides a safe space for all our community.

A really simple way you can help make a positive change for our LGBTQIA+ community is using a persons preferred pronouns. I know some people find this confusing so let’s break it down. A persons sex is assigned off physical anatomy. A persons gender identity is their perception of their own gender and will define what pronouns they prefer to use. Just asking a person their preferred pronoun and using it is really simple and makes a big difference, it’s validating and shows you care and respect them.

Grab a cuppa and few minutes to learn more this video might be an easy start: Gender Identity and Pronouns – Onlea – What Will You Teach The World?

Or why not pop over and check this webpage for more information Minus18 they’re leading change, building social inclusion, and advocating for an Australia where all young people are safe, empowered, and surrounded by people that support them – we think that’s really awesome!

Have you had your booster shot and need assistance in updating your vaccination certificate?

We will be running a session each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon at 3 pm.  Please give us a call and let us know you are coming 5655 2524. A donation would be appreciated.

Please bring: along your MyGov Username and Password, if we assisted you in the past please bring along the card/sheet we gave you at the time. 

As you would appreciate, we have many people who will need assistance so if it is possible for you to come in at those times it will greatly assist us with managing our workload.