GIVIT visits Mogo Aboriginal Preschool

Three women sitting at a picnic table displaying a vairety of children's games, books and toys.

Article originally published on The Beagle.

Caroline Odgers from not-for-profit donation platform GIVIT was in Mogo NSW today distributing Christmas presents to charity partner Campbell Page Mogo Aboriginal Preschool. GIVIT assisted the preschool during the Black Summer Bushfires and is now assisting with donations for families who are suffering from financial hardship as a result of the pandemic.

Caroline used donated funds from the public via the GIVIT platform to purchase Christmas presents locally in Mogo before presenting them to Janine Hutton, Program Manager Indigenous, Youth & Family Services at Campbell Page.

GIVIT distributing donations on the NSW South Coast to people impacted by COVID-19 and bushfires

  • GIVIT is facilitating donations of essential items for people that were impacted by the pandemic
  • Almost 2,000 requests for help have been registered across New South Wales
  • Many people are still recovering from the Black Summer Bushfires

Not-for-profit donation platform GIVIT is supporting vulnerable people across New South Wales South Coast impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through a dedicated COVID-19 Relief Program.

With requests for help almost doubling since the beginning of the pandemic, GIVIT is distributing essential items to vulnerable people across the state following a $2 million injection of funds from NRMA Insurance and RACV.

GIVIT partner Campbell Page said they have seen an increase in demand for their services over the past few months.

“Mogo, in Eurobodalla, was badly impacted by the bushfires in 2020,” said Janine Hutton, Program Manager Indigenous, Youth & Family Services at Campbell Page. “Hundreds of homes and many businesses burnt down. GIVIT assisted us at the time by providing essential donations for people to get back on their feet.”

“We’ve now got people who are still recovering from the Black Summer bushfires who have lost jobs because of the pandemic and are experiencing severe financial hardship. They’re struggling to pay bills and feed their families, and many of these people are still suffering from trauma following the fires.”

“We’re putting a call out for donations of food, school supplies, Christmas presents and clothing to help people in this region recover and move on.”

GIVIT spokesperson Caroline Odgers said many people are dealing with the compounding impacts of natural disasters, family and domestic violence, financial hardship and the profound effects of the pandemic.

“Large parts of this region were severely impacted by the Black Summer Bushfires, with so many people still struggling to recover,” said Caroline.

GIVIT facilitated the donation of more than 200,000 essential items and more than $2 million to assist people in New South Wales in the recovery of this disaster.”

“In the first two weeks of our COVID-19 Relief Program we coordinated almost 10,000 donations across New South Wales, with almost 2,000 requests still outstanding.”

“Almost every facet of life has been impacted including businesses, schools, community sports clubs and services.”

“Our message is that help is available. GIVIT can respond to urgent requests for essential items very quickly to help people get through this challenging period. We’re a free, online service for charities, support organisations and local councils to access donations for their communities.”

Since the COVID-19 Relief program was launched in September, hundreds of services have already listed requests for support including domestic and family violence services and emergency food and housing shelters.

NRMA Insurance Executive General Manager Direct Claims, Luke Gallagher said, “So many NSW communities have experienced devastating natural disasters over the past two years, including floods, hail and fires, and as an insurer we’ve seen first-hand how difficult it can be for communities to recover from these events while also dealing with the lasting impacts of the pandemic.”

“As we continue to support our customers in their recovery, we’re proud to partner with GIVIT on the COVID-19 Relief Program to help communities across the state access the urgent, essential items they need as quickly as possible.”

100% of donated money received by GIVIT to support people in need are used to purchase essential items and services. We buy locally, wherever possible, to support local businesses and the economic recovery of affected communities.

To help people struggling in your local community go to www.givit.org.au/covid-19-relief-program. To register as a support organisation go to https://www.givit.org.au/need-help/organisations.

Campbell Page is now a White Ribbon Australia Accredited Workplace

The white ribbon logo made out of white flags in a field next to the ocean

Content warning: This article discusses gendered violence & domestic abuse.

Campbell Page is committed to creating a thriving community that’s free from domestic and family violence. As part of our continued commitment to gender equality, we’re pleased to announce that we have been awarded White Ribbon Australia workplace accreditation.


This accreditation, which has been completed over a number of years, shows that our commitment to gender equality and creating safe workplaces for everyone goes beyond words and has been assessed and endorsed by experts in the field. It reinforces the great work our teams are doing and it helps to strengthen our approach to creating a culture that is respectful, safe and of course, equal.

We’ve built a culture in our offices and within the communities we service that actively helps to prevent domestic violence. We have additional policies, procedures, and support systems for our staff and customers who may be experiencing domestic violence, or who need support to leave. We also deliver specialised community programs and initiatives for our customers that promote respectful relationships and empower women.

The work we do supporting people to thrive by getting a job connects us with many members of the community that are at risk of or experiencing family or domestic violence. To make sure our customers get the support they need to achieve the future they want, we partner up with a range of fantastic community organisations so that we can offer a supportive, holistic solution.

Campbell Page is proud to support White Ribbon Australia and is committed to preventing gendered violence and providing safe and supportive spaces for our employees and customers.


Our sites are abuse free zones. If you’re experiencing domestic violence, or need support to leave, we’re here to help. For more information on White Ribbon Australia visit www.whiteribbon.org.au

Eden Canoes Initiative obtains further funding, strives towards social enterprise

People building canoes, with finished ones in the background

Article written by Leah Szanto and published on The Eden Magnet

Since the huge success of its pilot program in 2020, the Eden Canoes project is going from strength to strength and is hopefully on the way to becoming a social enterprise.

Having secured $242,000 from the Bushfire Community Recovery and Resilience Fund (BCRRF) for the next stages of the initiative, project manager Michael Palmer is very excited about future prospects and benefits for broader community involvement.

Over the next 18 months, three ‘train the trainer’ workshops are being held, which Michael hopes will generate greater interest in the program. Eight student workshops are also to be delivered, offering the same two-week canoe building course to 100 students, in which canoes are built from scratch before entering local waters on cultural tours.

Fundamental to the program, which was originally developed as an engagement strategy for Indigenous high school students, are the connections formed with significant community figures and cultural services, providing participants with both a sense of belonging and pride as well as immense personal achievement.

  EMHS students with their handcrafted canoes at the completion of the 2020 program. Photo: Carina Severs, Eden Community Access Centre

Michael said the relationship built with Eden Marine High School (EMHS) was key for the program as the school saw the great benefit it brings and have continued to collaborate in its delivery.

Campbell Page, Katungul Aboriginal Corporation and Twofold Aboriginal Corporation have also been major backers of the program, which has provided opportunity for many community members to contribute their time, form connections and learn new skills.

“I hope this program allows all children to become involved,” Michael said.

There will always be an Indigenous component, paddling local waterways and looking at middens and fish traps, talks and tours form an integral part and the canoes themselves represent the culture.

“We hope to have combined school groups here with Indigenous and non-Indigenous learning together, shoulder to shoulder, an environment in which someone who may be unfamiliar ceases to be ‘the other’ and becomes a person.

“It’s in this way we foster a more decent society, happy to paddle together on the ocean,” Michael said.

Strong connections are formed through the achievable process of building canoes together. Photo: Carina Severs, Eden Community Access Centre

A business consultant will work alongside the project manager, exploring what a sustainable social enterprise might look like and the best way to give the project longevity.

“We would like to explore collaborations and potential employment paths with men’s groups, rehabilitation centres and those recently released from prison,” Michael said.

“Large firms may be interested in utilising the program for team building and cultural safety courses.”

 Other local schools are currently in conversations with the project manager of the initiative about future participation. Photo: Leah Szanto

Stacy Muscat, Aboriginal education officer at EMHS said the program was offered as an alternative to formal schooling and it works.

“Community engagement is a big part of it and the Elders want to be involved,” she said.

“It makes the kids so proud to have their efforts recognised by people they care about and look up to.

“It’s an activity where you can chat while working together – some students who struggle with a classroom environment for six hours a day really thrived, arriving earlier and staying later,” Stacy said.

Also a teacher at EMHS Toby Markham said the project was achievable and rewarding for the students, with parts of their regular curriculum, such as maths, which might ordinarily be dreaded, suddenly becoming more approachable.

“The same kids who hate physical education found themselves paddling in a gale and they loved it,” Toby said.

“At the end of the program they were sunburnt, sore and happy.”

Read more about the project here

‘Everyone is doing it tough’: Family food donation welcomed by Bega Valley Public School

Article written by Alasdair McDonald and published on https://www.begadistrictnews.com.au/story/6760497/everyone-is-doing-it-tough-family-food-donation-welcomed-by-bega-valley-public-school/

Food packages have been donated to fourteen Bega families with children attending Bega Valley Public School.

Registered charity Campbell Page’s Indigenous, Youth and Family Services operation manager Dennis Scott said families are struggling, given some parents are out of work due to the economic effects of the bushfire emergency and the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Bega Valley public School pupils Makai Mundy, Janali Thomas, Chelsea Balcomb and Corey Sale, Campbell Page’s Greg Nicholson, Rachel Smith and Dennis Scott and school principal Carolyn Nugent.

The charity purchased the packages from the Sapphire Community Pantry to help the local economy.

“The last six months has been flat out here,” Mr Scott said.

“We wanted to consult with the primary school to help us.”

“The donation won’t be a one-off, it will continue.”

The school’s principal Carolyn Nugent said the community has been supportive of the school through a difficult year.

“Our community is extremely grateful, and it shows the great support we have for each other in our country town,” she said.

“It is hard. Everyone is doing it tough.”

Read more about our food hamper project here

Vulnerable coast families at risk before fires, COVID-19: The Family Place

Collage artwork of brightly coloured leaves

Article written by Andrea Cantle and published on https://www.batemansbaypost.com.au/story/6700340/vulnerable-coast-families-at-risk-before-covid-19/?cs=229

 ‘Leaf by leaf’ artwork created at a community wellbeing event at the Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club after the bushfires.

The Family Place CEO Malindey Sorrell says coronavirus and government restrictions have ramped up anxiety, risk and tension in homes.

A South Coast service fears for the state of home life in the COVID-19 pandemic, and says more funding is needed for groups supporting vulnerable families.

The Moruya service says coastal families, such as many in the Eurobodalla Shire, were particularly vulnerable after the bushfires, and because entrenched disadvantage had “not been addressed”.

The Southern NSW District Data Profile, published in late 2019, revealed the shire trumped nearly every area of disadvantage in the Southern NSW District.

It had the highest percentage of vulnerable children; of children under the age of 15 affected by mental illness; of children and young people in out-of-home care; the highest likelihood of domestic assaults and non-domestic assaults; the highest rate of unemployment; of young mothers and of maternal smoking during pregnancy.

Those concerns were neglected before and after the bushfires, Ms Sorrell said.

She said the fires put a lot of pressure on families. Now, in constant close proximity, there was heightened risk of tension and domestic violence.

Ms Sorrell said children staying at home might increase tension in a complex home.

“Sometimes school is a protective factor; it provides routine and stability,” she said.

“(Now) if things are tough at home, there’s no time away.”

Home schooling was challenging for some families, particularly without technology.

Some people were so accustomed to high levels of cortisol, due to historic trauma, that the current crisis left them unfazed, but children suffered.

“It’s hard being a parent in the easiest circumstances, then look at what we’ve been through,” Ms Sorrell said.

“Not everyone has a good support structure. Financial distress can exacerbate relationship and family issues: losing jobs, hours cut and uncertainty.

“I don’t think we’re seeing the fall-out of this because we’re in survival mode.”

Malindey Sorrell says shire groups can best help vulnerable families.

More funding would provide programs for families affected by domestic violence, drug and alcohol and historic trauma. She said funding for non-government organisations and not-for-profit organisations had not been reviewed.

“NGOs have never been supported in any localised way,” she said.

They could employ local people and intervene earlier with financial counselling, mindfulness, case planning and general family support.

In March, staff from The Family Place worked with a volunteer art therapist, Campbell Page and Gahdu Health at the Batemans Bay Surf Life Saving Club to help the community after the summer bushfires.

Ms Sorrell said 180 people attended the three-day “leaf by leaf” free art and wellbeing gathering and it was “very moving”.

Other high-performing services and providers on the coast could help close the disadvantages gap, but they also needed funding.

Since the bushfires, there was no communication or support given to existing NGOs in the shire, Ms Sorrell said.

Money given to national charities and international foreign aid since the bushfires had not met the goal of strengthening existing relationships in the community.

She had exhausted options of who to ask for funding.

“In short, we’re not able to provide families what they need,” she said.

“It’s an ethical thing that needs to happen for NGOs and NFPs. It’s an important step for community development,” she said.

On Sunday, morning, March 29, the Morrison government announced a $1.1 billion package to support coronoavirus-specific health and family-violence services, including more money for domestic violence support services and charities.

Ms Sorrell said while it was a promising development, “more needs to be done”.

“It looks as though this money may go to mental health clinical services for tele-health and domestic violence specialist services. Both of these criteria would exclude services like ours, yet because we work holistically with families, we are working to support families with a range of complex issues,” she said.

“The federal government needs to make a much bigger commitment to NGOs in the community setting, particularly those who are supporting families who are bushfire-impacted and now COVID-19- impacted.”

Eden youth have the power within

Aboriginal man in traditional clothing and body painting

Article written by Rachel Mounsey and published in https://www.edenmagnet.com.au/story/6422313/eden-youth-have-the-power-within/?cs=2895

Pride in culture: William Webb dances at Haycocks Point during filming of ” The Power Within” Photo: Rachel Mounsey

Eden’s indigenous youth have come to the final stages of an exciting half year project collaborating with Fling Physical Theatre to create an original music video featuring the teens, set to be released in coming weeks.

As part of the “Beats Project” the group worked with locally renowned creatives and mentors, Gabriela Green Olea, Chelsy Atkins, Meaghan Holt, Warren Foster and Shaquille Aldridge to write, record and produce the inspiring song, dance and video clip.

The six month project saw the teenagers participating in cultural and hip- hop dance, songwriting, singing, rapping and film making workshops. As well as reflecting on themselves and their community as indigenous Australians through in depth discussion and journal writing.

The experience culminated in the writing and recording of an original track titled “The Power Within.”

The song was recorded at Merimbula School of Music by Chelsea Atkins and Ricky Bloomfield.

The film clip was shot at various significant locations across Eden by Sydney film maker Catherine Knight and David Dixon over the past week.

Fling Physical Theatre dance development officer and project leader Gabriela Green Olea said the group had come a long way from start to finish and are beginning to recognise their potential as future leaders in their community and beyond.

“The opportunity to be guided by working artists has shown there are real prospects out there and they can achieve them. They proved to themselves that they can do it, and have gained an important sense of self belief.”

Cultural advisor and mentor to the group Meaghan Holt said the confidence and personal growth individuals had gained throughout the experience was unbelievable and encouraged the teens to continue on their path of “deadliness”

“Working with each artist, the kids were able to find a space to express themselves and even when they weren’t confident they gave it a go any way. It took a lot of courage from many of them.”

After recently discovering her Aboriginal heritage,17-year-old Latesha Pateman said participating in the project gave her a deeper connection to her culture.

Inspiring mentor Shaquille Aldridge plays the didge at Haycocks Point during filming. Photo: Rachel Mounsey

“It’s made me feel new on the inside and special…like I fit in somewhere,” she said.

Participants William Webb and Harley Warnke said having local mentors like Shaquille Aldridge teaching dance and cultural practices was inspiring them to aim high and achieve their dreams.

“I can see myself rising to the top,” William Webb said.

The project was supported by Campbell Page and funded by Create NSW.

The music video launch date is yet to be confirmed.

Eden Magnet: “Elders games set to kick off at Jigamy”

Foxtail, shoot for the hoop, string ball toss, frisbee net throw and the ring toss are just some of the games on offer at the annual Elders Games Day to be held at Jigamy Farm on Thursday, April 12. The event is supported by some of the regions healthcare providers including Grand Pacific Health, Katungul and Campbell Page who have all been invited to attend.

To read the full story please click here, or to visit the Eden Magnet website, click here.

People with disability are the real winners as Campbell Page boosts its employment support to 70 sites

Earlier this month, the Department of Social Services awarded Campbell Page rollover of its existing high-performing Disability Employment Services (DES) sites for another five years, as well as the opportunity to open sites in 34 new locations from 1 July 2018.

Based on its strong performance and commitment to community, Campbell Page now has the opportunity to almost double its reach from 36 sites across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia to 70 sites, including the move into Queensland.

In addition to retaining its support for customers within Disability Management Services, Campbell Page will also be welcoming new customers within Employment Support Services who are looking for a greater level of support, both to find a suitable job and to keep it.

Campbell Page CEO Natalie Turmine said the DES announcement was a welcome one as it would allow Campbell Page to extend its support for people with illness, injury or disability who are seeking employment.

 Last year, we supported over 7,600 people to achieve their personal goal of finding employment and/or education and we’re excited to be extending our reach to even more customers this coming year. – Ms Turmine.

A number of changes within the DES program come into effect on 1 July, giving Campbell Page customers far more flexibility in the support they receive. Customers will be given greater choice and control over the employment services they receive, the way they want to interact with the service and even the location they wish to attend.

We’re excited about the upcoming changes and we’re embracing the opportunity to reshape the way we offer support to both employers and to people with a disability looking to find work – Ms Turmine.

Below is a list of the new communities Campbell Page will be providing employment support in, following the July 1st changes to the Disability Employment Services contract:

VIC:

  • Corio
  • Geelong
  • Queenscliff
  • Torquay
  • Bayswater
  • Boronia
  • Lilydale
  • Ringwood
  • Yarra Junction
  • Cranborne North
  • Emerald
  • Pakenham

SA:

  • Adelaide
  • Norwood
  • Stirling
  • Elizabeth Vale
  • Enfield
  • Modbury
  • Munno Para
  • Salisbury

NSW:

  • Hurstville
  • Miranda
  • Sutherland
  • Corrimal
  • Dapto
  • Shellharbour
  • Wollongong

QLD:

  • Nundah
  • Spring Hill
  • Zillmere
  • Upper Mount Gravatt
  • Yeronga