The Family Centre celebrated National Volunteers week with a morning tea to say thank you and acknowledge the immeasurable contribution that volunteers make to our organisation and our community.

The Family Centre receives funding/investment from government and investment from community in the form of donations. Volunteers invest an even more precious commodity – their time – to help us create programs and initiatives that deliver so much more than we are funded to provide.

Last year The Family Centre had 101 people make a volunteer contribution. We currently have 38 people actively contributing in assigned roles on a regular basis, and a total of 111 volunteers involved in different projects and community events.

Thank you to all our volunteers for making a world of difference in our community.
If you would like to get involved and volunteer for The Family Centre visit our website to view current volunteer roles and opportunities.

We are looking for volunteer fundraisers to assist us in with our up and coming community raffles at Kingscliff Beach Bowls Club.

The Family Centre has teamed up with Surf Dive n Ski again this year to help more than 200 disadvantaged children and young people in the Northern Rivers. 

Surf Dive n Ski has donated more than 200 backpacks to the Family Centre as part of the Youth Projects campaign.

Many families are struggling to make ends meet and the donation of backpacks will be a great help. For many young people and children experiencing financial disadvantage it’s the small things that are often taken for granted that can make a huge difference. Being able to provide backpacks and other items for school can alleviate the stress of not having the right gear can make a young person or child feel more inclusive.

On top of the 200 backpacks Surf Dive n Ski have kindly donated an extra 100 backpacks to a project being run in Murwillumbah by It Takes a Town.

Last week our Youth and Family Worker Tabitha and Intern Student Bim ran a workshop focussing on gratitude at Tweed River High School. The workshop is part of the Being Real Girls Group (REALskills High School Program)
 
The group consists of 14 Year 9 students with the session discussing the idea that when times in our lives may feel tricky if we try and focus on something we are grateful for it may improve wellbeing and a sense of happiness.
 
The students made gratitude jars with layers of coloured sand, and at the end of the session all the students were given the opportunity to take part in the ‘Gratitude Logies’. Each student holds up the jar and practices sharing something or someone that they grateful for.

This year the Tweed RAP committee consisting of members from Tweed Shire Council, Social Futures, Momentum Collective and The Family Centre held their annual Reconciliation Week event… Myth Busters – Comedy and Trivia Night. With over 90 guests attending the night the evening kicked off with a Welcome to Country by Uncle Victor accompanied by Brandon on the digeridoo. Uncle Victor then gave a moving speech on reconciliation.
 
Guest where then treated to a traditional Kupmurri dinner prepared by Alfie Summers accompanied by non-alcoholic craft beer infused with bush tucker ingredients from Clinton at Soba. Clinton donated all the proceeds from his sales on the night to the local NAIDOC committee totaling $250.
 
Then it was onto the laughs and trivia with local comedians Vanessa Mitchell and Matt Ford. Matt is a local indigenous man who was a finalist in Deadly Laughs and has appeared on NITV. He is now touring the country in a comedy show called Aboriginalol.
 
The trivia was a real brain twister, busting the myths on local and national indigenous culture and history with 4 teams coming out on top and being rewarded with some great prizes from our sponsors.
 
We would like to thank all of those who attended the night and our sponsors:
Surf Dive n Ski, Seagulls, Pottsville Beach Sports Club, Kingscliff Beach Bowls Club, Richard Frost, Yarru Water and Soba.

The Kinship Festival was held at Knox Park in Murwillumbah on 18 May with over 4000 people attending the festival. The festival was created to celebrate National Families Week through Indigenous world views.
 
The welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony were gratefully received by the community as an invitation to combine our common purpose through the medium of aboriginal dance culture, art and craft, sharing food and stories.
 
A community art installation design by Uncle Magpie for the festival invited community participation in the construction of his design. The weeks leading up to the festival local schools and preschools painted drift wood with ochre to form part of the art installation
 
The Family Centre’s nature crown stall was a hit with parents and children designing over 400 very creative crowns assisted by our amazing volunteers.
 
The Festival is made possible because of the commitment of the committee with consists of local Aboriginal community members and services providers from across the Northern Rivers. The Family Centre’s Early Years Network is proud to be part of this committee that celebrateschildren and families creating a sense of belonging, happiness and a connection to country and culture.
 
If you are a family living in 2484 and would like to participate in the Kinship Festival Planning Committee for next year please contact Paula LaBelle –[email protected].

Bim Kilje is a Cultural Anthropology student from Sweden. Bim choose The Family Centre for her internship because she had ties in Australia and was looking for experiences with local not for profits.

Bim’s initial project with The Family Centre was to collect population data and to assist with reviewing surveys to look at trends in our community. But because of the diverse range of work we do her internship allowed Bim to work across a number of programs and events including: REALskills, Kinship Festival, Reconciliation Week event, Suicide Prevention Program, Connecting Home and parenting courses.

Bim said she has found The Family Centre the most welcoming and friendly workplace with everyone open to sharing their experiences with her.

Bim has been a valuable member to all the teams and programs she has contributed to. We will miss her when she returns to Sweden later this month. We wish her the best of luck with the remainder of her studies.

Pictured: Some of The Family Centre team farewelling Bim

Join us at our next Information Session  
Get to know The Family Centre and find out about what we can do together to make change achievable

Thursday August 8, 10am–12pm, 2019
Kentwell Community Centre, 20 Bangalow Road Ballina

We’ll talk about:
what we want for our community, our values, role, strategic directions and practice principles
the ways we work together with children, young people, families, schools and communities

EVERYONE IS WELCOME
parents or carers 
young people
community members 
service partners
students
volunteers, or you might be thinking of volunteering with us