Pancake Day News Issue 2 2017

s w e N y a D e k a se u c a c n d o o g Pa Flipping fun for a Issue 2, 2017

Next Year!

13th February 2018

UnitingCare SA Level 2, 212 Pirie St, Adelaide SA 5000 GPO Box 2145, Adelaide SA 5001 Phone: (08) 8236 4256 Email: pancakeday@ sa.uca.org.au

Website: sa.pancakeday .com.au

Freecall 1800 060 543

Pancakes4Lunch Uniting in Care, Salisbury Uniting in Care Salisbury, Inc was created in 1993 by Salisbury Uniting Church, which in turn has its roots going back to the 1850s, to provide practical assistance to the Salisbury community. It is staffed by volunteers from the church community who want to make a positive difference to the community in which they live.

Wednesday4Lunch is a free community meal for anyone who comes in which has an average of 40+ people attending weekly. The main people who attend this lunch service are those who are doing it tough and those in the community who feel isolated.

They all come to share in a meal and build a network of support with each other.

This important addition to the Salisbury community wouldn’t exist without wonderful volunteers and supporters like those who give to Pancake Day. This year, Pancake Day funds allowed the team to purchase food for the lunches and several important appliances to allow the volunteers to make better lunches.

Above: the community gathers at Uniting in Care, Salisbury to share Wednesday4Lunch.

Your support makes a difference UnitingCare Kapunda Teaching money skills Financial counsellors are an important service to offer people who struggle with finances. Rather than simply providing one-off relief services, people are given the skills to work on controlling their own financial futures.

The funding from Pancake Day allows Amanda Wilkins, a financial counsellor at UnitingCare Kapunda, to lead workshops on financial literacy. These workshops provide skills, knowledge and resources to individuals and families who find themselves in financial difficulty, as well as providing them with some valuable digital literacy skills, including setting up and using accounts for government online services.

Between 40 and 60 people are expected to undertake the financial training in the 12 month period after Pancake Day. Jenny* is one of the people who has accessed the services.

Most of her money is managed by the Public Trustee, but she still has a small allowance left over for herself. Lack of skills, knowledge and support have been a barrier to her making any improvements in her economic life. Financial literacy has provided her with a clearer understanding of money management, ongoing support to meet her economic goals and has also provided her with the skills and knowledge to make choices that have made a significant difference in improving her financial position. She is now saving weekly and feels more confident managing her allowance from the Public Trustee. UnitingCare Kapunda will continue to work with her on a one on one basis, which will provide her with the opportunity to revise her personal budget and monitor the effectiveness of her individual learning plan. *not her real name

Uniting SA Pancake Day funds have a lasting impact Funds raised through this year’s UnitingCare SA Pancake Day have helped put food on the table for dozens of families and individuals who would usually miss out.

UnitingSA used Pancake Day funds to provide supermarket vouchers** for people who are usually not eligible because their visa status means they are unable to access government-funded financial assistance.

The funds also went towards upgrading a shed at UnitingSA’s Child, Youth & Family Services, where donated clothes are sorted and stored for distribution to people in need.

UnitingSA Anti-Poverty Team Leader Cindy Adey says the shed transformation is a huge benefit to the volunteers who work there.

“This allows us to properly store the generous donations before we distribute them,” Cindy says.

“It means our volunteers have an organised space with new shelves and lighting, which makes a big difference.”

Volunteer Nonie, pictured at right, who spends three days a week at the Port Adelaide centre, agrees.

“We can fit more clothing in there, it is more organised and it makes our work easier,” she says.

“This really helps a lot.” **for more about vouchers see the back page.

UnitingCare Copper Triangle expands to Moonta: Pancake Day helps This year the Uniting Churches of the Moonta Parish became partners in UnitingCare Copper Triangle.

In previous years, these churches have run very successful Pancake Day events and profits have been directed to UCCT. However they were not eligible for grants. This year, now a partner with UCCT, Pancake Day has been able to support Moonta’s local community outreach programs.

Ros Duncan and Jan Oxley needed equipment for safer and more efficient operation of the Moonta Parish Food Parcel program, and a successful Pancake Day grant application by UCCT resulted in a lightweight sack truck and sealed storage containers being purchased. Ros and Jan can now move containers to and from cars without strain. The sealed containers allow them to start storing non-perishables for their Christmas Hampers which go to UnitingCare Copper Triangle volunteers at families in need in their area.

Moonta. Jan Oxley (L) and Ros Duncan (R) with their new sack truck and a stack of containers of food items.

The four churches in the Moonta Parish (Moonta, Moonta Mines, Cross Roads and Cunliffe) have a strongly committed Lay Ministry Team which provides outreach to the community. UCCT is committed to working with the Lay Ministry Team to help achieve their local outreach goals. Team member, Michael Bussenschutt, who is also on the UnitingCare Copper Triangle Board says, “There’s truth in the old saying ‘A partnership is greater than the sum of its parts’.”

UCCT was also given funds to create two no-interest microfinance loans to keep up with demand on the Yorke Peninsula.

Thank you to the Pancake Day fundraisers for their support for UnitingCare Copper Triangle.

UCare Gawler Full stomachs for school UCare Gawler’s school breakfast program is a project that is very dear to their volunteers. The schools breakfast club supports 4 schools, ensuring all children start the day with some food in their bellies. But more than this, it helps the children to bond socially with their peers. Many of the children who attend breakfast clubs start the day alone.

Further to the breakfast club program, Pancake Day funding has enabled UCare Gawler to support Gawler East Primary School by providing food assistance for their school camp which has recently become a financial burden to families already doing it tough.

This support helps to bring down the cost for the camp which helps reduce the number of children who would have been unable to attend camp due to their family’s low income. This year, Gawler Primary years 5, 6, and 7 participated in the camp. UCare Gawler supplied pancake mix, bread, rolls, and cereal.

Pancake Day funding makes a real difference in the Gawler community!

Learn more: About vouchers Vouchers, also known as gift cards, are an important part of community services that run emergency relief programs.

People usually come into emergency relief services run by UnitingCare organisations with a particular need. Sometimes they don’t have enough food to make it through the week. Other times, they cannot afford to pay their electricity bill and buy their medication at the same time. Sometimes people don’t have a way to get to the hospital on the other side of town and back for an important medical visit.

Rather than giving people cash, UnitingCare services give people vouchers. These can be Coles or Woolworth’s Essentials Cards which can be used at many outlets, but cannot be used to buy alcohol or tobacco. They can also be for chemist shops or for public transport.

These vouchers can bridge a financial gap during a time of crisis for many families.

Pancake Day supporters can feel confident that their efforts are making a difference in the community.

Essentials

$20.00

Chemist

$20.00

Thank you to our

Major Sponsors Contact Us

UnitingCare Organisations You Can Help Support Clayton Church Homes Eldercare Helping Hand Aged Care Resthaven St Andrew’s Hospital UCare Gawler Uniting Communities Uniting in Care, Salisbury

UnitingCare Copper Triangle UnitingCare Glenelg UnitingCare Kapunda UnitingCare Mount Gambier UnitingCare Wesley Bowden UnitingCare Wesley Country SA UnitingCare Wesley Port Adelaide

Ph: (08) 8236 4233 or 1800 060 543 Level 2 212 Pirie Street Adelaide SA 5000 GPO Box 2145, Adelaide SA 5001 pancakeday@sa.uca.org.au sa.pancakeday.com.au

Register for UnitingCare Pancake Day 13th February 2018 Hold your event anytime during February or March

It’s easy! Call, go online or post this form to Pancake Day using the contact details above.

Group Name ________________________________________________Contact Name________________________________________________ Contact Phone _______________________________________________Mobile Phone ________________________________________________ Mailing Address __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Email Address _______________________________________________Our event will be held on:

Pancake Day

Another day

We specifically want our event listed on the website/Facebook for the public to join in.

(You will be contacted nearer the event for your details)

Our event is private, please do not list it anywhere.

Office Use Only We want Penny to visit our event, if possible! (or we want ________ ID: to borrow the Penny costume)

Date Received:

Initials: