We Believe in the Power of Community
“Community Gro acknowledges the traditional custodians, the Wulgurukaba and Bindal people, of the land on which Community Gro services are located and pays respect to Elders past, present and future, and extends that respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people past, present and future.”
Empowering change in lives and communities
I acknowledge the Wulgurukaba People who are the traditional owners of this land that we meet upon today. I also acknowledge the Bindal People whom they share this great nation with and pay my respect to them, their culture and to their Elders both past, present and emerging.
Further acknowledgement
I am pleased to offer the President’s Report for Community Gro for the Financial Year 2019-2020. I welcome you and thank you for attending this year’s Annual General Meeting. I wish to recognise the support of the Federal Member, Phillip Thompson, State Members, Minister Coralee O’Rourke, Aaron Harper, Scott Stewart, Civic leaders, Mayor Jenny Hill and Deputy Mayor, Mark Molachino.
The Board of Community Gro has presided over another successful year of operation despite the disruption from COVID-19 from March of this year. The organisation continued to deliver services, just differently. This is due to the leadership and agility of the organisation’s processes that we were able to quickly adapt and continue vital program delivery. This included staying in contact with our community; checking in with isolated and vulnerable individuals; and providing practical assistance with food and essential items.
Thankfully we have returned to mostly normal service delivery through the centres, but we have learnt a lot about adaptability and the value of online services. I am proud that we continue to prove our worth, relevance and sustainability as an organisation.
I would like to extend a vote of thanks to my fellow board members for their continued support over the year and for giving their time to help the organisation where required.
Like many similar organisations the programs that we deliver would not be possible without the support of government funding. Thank you to:
Commonwealth Government, Department of Social Services
Brotherhood of St Laurence
Queensland Government, Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors
Queensland Government, Department of Education
Queensland Government, Department of Employment, Small Business and Training
Townsville City Council
Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Services
We are fortunate with our continued partnerships with the business sector and wouldn’t be able to sustain the additional unfunded work we do. Particular thanks go to:
PAYCE - who have been providing support since 2015.
Dominos Kelso – who have been providing support for more than 2 years.
An organisation such as ours does not run as smoothly as it does if it were not for great leadership. In our organisation we have outstanding leaders with our CEO, centre managers and program coordinators. The time and effort that they put into the organisation is exceptional. I would also like to extend my gratitude and thanks to all staff of the organisation. I have said many times that without passionate team members that excel in their provision of services to the community, then we do not have the ability to provide the vast array of programs we have on offer.
Volunteers are integral to the success of this organisation and without their help we wouldn’t be able to provide all the programs we do. Our team of volunteers continually give of themselves and their time and ask for nothing in return. Community Gro is extremely lucky to have a wonderful network of these selfless giving people and I wish to formally acknowledge and thank them for their enormous effort throughout the year, it is appreciated by the Board and staff.
Looking towards the future, I am confident that Community Gro as an organisation will continue to provide exceptional services to the community and continue to meet expectations. As an organisation we want to be recognised for acknowledging the significant role of culture and for the delivery of high-quality community services.
On behalf of the Board I assure our members, patrons, staff, volunteers and stakeholders that Community Gro will always strive towards excellence and continue to flourish.
Mark Tyrell President
This is my last Annual Report as the CEO of Community Gro and I thank all of you for what has been a privilege leading this organisation for the last 8 years.
Thank you to all the past and current board members. A special thanks to Michelle Morton, past board member who mentored me and the organisation into being the sophisticated operation that we are today. Thank you to Mark Tyrell, current President who has been my rock.
Thank you to all the past and current employees for your trust and loyalty as we navigated the learning together. It has taken hard work and dedication to achieve what we have. Together we have grown the organisation’s portfolio to include an additional site, the Garbutt Community Centre and additional programs including the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) Upper Ross; delivery of Skilling Queenslanders for Work projects; the Community Connect Program; and the Upper Ross Youth Hub.
Together we have become an equal opportunity employer with 60% of total employees identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and, we continue to diversify with the employment of individuals from other cultural backgrounds. The employees and volunteers are truly reflective of our community.
Speaking of volunteers, I am most grateful for our volunteers. You are what makes Community Gro special with the significant value you add. We couldn’t have achieved all that we have without you. Thank you for cleaning, gardening, answering phones, entering data, doing tax, teaching IT, applying for grants, driving the bus, lifting, carrying and so on.
I apologise if I offend anyone, but I feel it necessary to mention two volunteers who have been with the organisation, one for as long as I have and the other longer. Noel Tambling thank you for looking after the Upper Ross Community Centre gardens. I love that you just go about your work without instruction and the gardens are always cared for and maintained. And Ted Belkmeer, thank you for the 4,152 computer lessons you’ve taught over the nine plus years of volunteering. Ted is quite amazing, in 2015 he was going on extended leave so recruited his own replacement, Peter Banhuk and Peter continues to volunteer with us teaching computer and doing Tax Help, so thank you also Peter.
I have learnt so much and I appreciate the incredible opportunity that I was given with this role. In the beginning I treated it as a start-up and linked with as many organisations as I could and I’m thankful for the strong partnerships we continue to have today. It is through these partnerships that we can deliver the quality and scope of work that we do. There are too many to name, but I must make special mention of Michael Stainbrook from Northreach Baptist Church, who has been right there alongside me and the organisation since I started, thank you Michael.
The organisation is in a great position and ready for the new CEO to take it forward and continue to shape the Community Gro of the future. I wish the new CEO and everyone all the best and if you aren’t already employed, volunteering or partnering with Community Gro then you’re missing out.
Susan Perry President
Leadership is key in building a growth culture
2019/2020 was an interesting year. In the early part of the financial year we were supporting people with the recover from the February Monsoonal event. Then in March 2020 we were once again in crisis support mode, supporting community members impacted by COVID. Although the centre was closed during April/May we continued to support community through other avenues, including telephone support, providing frozen meals and pantry packs. We were fortunate to receive support from volunteers to help with home delivery of meals through this period.
Services provided during the 2019/20 year increased slightly over the previous year, with the exception to the AprJune quarter (when the centre was closed to the public).
A very big thank you for the commitment our volunteers have to Community GRO and the value they provide to the organisation. During 2019-20 we had 65 volunteers from Work for the Dole, Centrelink volunteers, Community volunteers, CVS, Students and Community Service. Special recognition to Pepper, Ted & Peter, Helen and Noel who each clocked up 3 or more years of continued volunteer service to Community GRO.
We have continued to strengthen our relationships and partnerships with community organisations and businesses throughout 2019/20. We would like to acknowledge the following organisations who have supported the delivery of services at the Upper Ross Community Centre during 2019/20:
• DATSIP
• Port of Townsville- providing volunteers to help with preparing frozen meals
• QLD Youth Justice
• QLD Health – Child Health, Renal and Vaccination Clinics
• Access Community Services
• QLD Country Women’s Association
• Volunteering North QLD
• Woolworths
• North Reach Baptist Church
• Tenancy Skills Institute
• Food Relief NQ
• Second Bite
• Upper Ross Collective
• Kinnect
• At Work Australia
• Care Army
In June 2020 we said farewell to our two longest serving employees: Jan Rolfe, who has been with the organisation for over 35 years and Tina Glenwright who has been with the organisation for over 10 years. We wish them both all the best.
Community response to our adapted service delivery model for NILS during COVID was well received by community. As a response to our adapted service delivery we have streamline our processes and shortened the turnaround time for processing applications. Feedback from NILS clients has been very positive.
Playgroup 153 people participated in playgroup
Support 85 people received intensive assistance
Kids Club 33 children made friends at the Upper Ross Kids Club
Workshops 78 children attended school holiday workshops
I believe in building strong connections with people, so that they trust me and will be more likely to open up and let me know what’s happening in their lives and how I can support them.
One of our playgroup mums who had been coming to playgroup for quite a while, asked for some help to get her finances under control. I was able to refer her to Uniting Care for some Financial Counselling and as a result she was able to get on top of her debts and learn how to budget her money.
I was very happy with the service that was provided. I didn’t feel like I was being judged, I was able to explain my situation and I received the help I needed at the time.
“My child has learnt to play with other kids and has made lots of friends!”
“The playgroup has a really nice atmosphere and we feel comfortable here.”
“Coming to playgroup has helped my son build his confidence and get him ready for day care.”
During the last quarter of the financial year the Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) has been impacted significantly by Covid-19. Aged Care Homes in various parts of Australia including Townsville were closed to all CVS visitors. Attempting to protect their elderly residents some care homes have chosen to remain closed whilst others have started to reopen. One long standing volunteer of CVS disclosed that she has not been able to visit her friend in the care home since March 2020. This had been a great loss to both the volunteer and the care recipient who had a birthday this year, turning 100. Volunteers report they have noticed a general decline in the mental health and general wellbeing of many older persons in residential aged care as a result of increased social isolation during this time.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19 a large portion of the CVS volunteers have ceased participation. This has been due to a variety of factors, including volunteers being in a high-risk category to be exposed to Covid-19 as older persons themselves or living with complex health conditions, or simply changes in their life circumstances.
The future direction of CVS is being shaped by the new Coordinator Angela Scovell who has been focused on reestablishing the CVS program post Covid-19, focusing on the recruitment of new volunteers and establishing new relationships with local care homes. While building on other ways for volunteer visitors to stay connected with residents by making phone calls, writing letters or cards if care homes remain closed to visitors. A trial utilising smart tablet devices to connect with residents via video calls is also planned.
A positive relationship that has been established during these challenging times, has been with Shalom Elders Village. Shalom Elders Village primarily supports Aboriginal, Torres Strait and South Sea Islander older persons and elders. The future direction of working with this care home aims to promote culturally sensitive protocols and respect, for example matching volunteers with older persons based on genders and cultural backgrounds where possible. CVS hopes to also promote a connection between the generations, in particular with younger members of the community and their elders.
Hi, my name is Boleen Gorringe I am the new HIPPY coordinator, I took on the role in September last year, since September last year I have been busy getting to know my HIPPY tutors, HIPPY families, and the Community Gro staff as well as Coordinator training in Melbourne.
In November 2019 Age 5 Cohort graduated from the HIPPY program, thanks to our Age 5 tutors Cynthia Enosa and Vicky Klein for their dedication and support to their HIPPY families over the 2 years.
2020 started off well with recruiting 2 new Age 4 HIPPY tutors to join the HIPPY team Samantha Akee and Ganima Anau, Samantha’s daughter and Ganima’s granddaughter are both enrolled in Age 4 HIPPY program, also our returning Age 5 tutor Geraldine Henaway
Preservice tutor training was held in February with our HIPPY Consultant Jennifer Voogt attending from Melbourne, with the tutors all fired up and out recruiting and promoting the HIPPY program. This year we did not reach our target number of 25 due to COVID.
We had 2 HIPPY Fun Days over the June/July holidays, one for Age 4 and one for Age 5. These fun days were to keep the families engaged as Home Visits or group meetings do not happen over the holidays.
Also we had an excursion to Billabong Sanctuary earlier in the year which tied into a HIPPY activity in Blue 1 “Making a Zoo”.
Introducing one of our new age 4 HIPPY families for 2020. My first home visit with Anika and her daughter Destiny. The excitement on their faces when receiving the HIPPY box with stationery and gifts. It was a delight meeting Destiny, who was keen on interacting in the first HIPPY activities with her Mum Anika. I would like to congratulate Anika in taking the first step in this great 2-year program, that will benefit and prepare Destiny with her confidence in starting school.
Ganima Anau, Age 4 Tutor
2019-2020 has been a very busy year for the Community Connect Program. I am so proud to say that this program has helped so many families and individuals who presented with multiple and complex needs. The amazing thing is each person walks away with either receiving financial support, advocacy support, information, advice and/or a referral to appropriate service providers for further support or just someone to talk too, they never leave empty handed. Although we were challenged with restrictions and the effects of Covid-19 this did not deter me from helping our community, I just had to adapt to doing things differently. I managed to meet community needs by assisting them over the phone and adhered to social distancing laws when needed. I can honestly say this program truly changes lives, it creates an avenue to hope and with hope many wonderful things happen.
The Shield of H.E.R.S Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Women’s group is doing incredible work with the Indigenous women in our community. March 2020 our women’s group hosted the Qld Women’s Week event, this was a great opportunity to celebrate our diverse community of strong women. Most of the guest speakers spoke for the very first time in front of a large group. Some of our women’s group participants have gained skills and training in facilitation as well as qualifications in Cert III in Community Services offered by our SQW program and they are now ready to gain fulltime work. This group of women provide so much support, strength, accountability, respect and love to each other and because of this they were able to get through the challenges of COVID-19. To stay connected I created a Facebook group, to date we have 85 members and growing, we also connected via Zoom sessions which is apparently the new norm.
I look forward to what the next year will bring and I am very confident to say that as an organisation we truly go beyond, to do our bit in meeting community needs.
Stay Blessed;
Topsy Tapim, Community Connect Worker
Heather, Glenda, Marlina and Marie
Housing/Homelessness Services
Emergency relief food Services
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Services
Kelly (not real name) is a single mum with 2 young children; presented at the centre very distressed and upset, she quickly informed everyone that her son has ASD as he too was very upset and was not responding or adhering to any instructions given by mum. Kelly advised she often helps everyone else but has no family support for herself; Kelly was concerned that she was not able to make her son’s school appointment the next day; The appointment was very important as it may secure a spot in a special school for her son, which she has been waiting for a spot for such a long time; Kelly is the type of person who always helps others but when she needs help those she supports never helps her in return. She was expecting some money back from a family member whom she assisted but the money was not returned. The money was going to be used to purchase food, as her son has special dietary requirement and fuel.
Actions: Arranged private space for the family; offered a hot or cold drink, snacks and toys for the young children. One of my colleagues assisted with her son whilst I comforted and settled mum; this provided an opportunity for mum to share her worries without any interruptions from her high needs son; we explored realistic options; made referral to ERF collective and family support service; also reassured her that we will assist with fuel so she can attend the school appointment.
Outcomes: Provided food from the community centre pantry for 2 nights until ERF appt; provided fuel voucher to assist family to get to the school appointment; met with mum on 5 other occasions to provide cultural mentoring and strategies on how to say no; Kelly is an active member of 2 other centre programs and doing extremely well.
2019/2020 was another busy and challenging year for Skilling Queenslanders for work.
We would like to congratulate the amazing participants for your hard work, determination and resilience.
Thank you to our project supporters and partners our RTO Selectability Training. CORES, Connecting Communities, Coast to Country training and all the organisations that provided their time to be guest speakers.
We, like everyone experienced hurdles associated with Covid. The program was impacted in many ways;
• Covid put a hold on face to face delivery of the SQW program for 12 weeks.
• People isolating due to weak immune systems
• People isolating due to elderly household members
• Shut down of schools and children doing home-schooling
We continued to support participants via phone, email and Facebook.
Despite all the challenges, we are on track to record 26 completions for Certificate III Community Services. The outcome numbers are still ongoing as the project is still in progress. We are excited to continue to be able to assist students to reach their goals and have been successful with another Round of funding to deliver SQW to the Townsville community for another 12 months.
It is always a feel good moment when you put a group of people together that have never met each other and very quickly they form friendships and support networks. Things like, students carpooling together because they found out they are neighbours; study groups forming because they live close by to each other; supporting each other in class; and students baking at home and bringing food to class to share.
4572 people attended the Centre from July 2019 – June 2020
436 people meals provided during COVID Lockdown March – May 2020
Services at the Garbutt Community Centre:
Computers
Social
Phone/Office Services
Programs
Throughout the year we have continued to enjoy positive collaboration and partnerships with a range of organisations across Townsville to assist in supporting community members. A few of the notable connections include:
• Calvary Christian Church – Calvary partnered with us to help provide support and food relief packages to people in need during lockdown.
• LiveFM – LiveFM have consistently been supportive in providing on-air advertising for events and activities occurring at the Garbutt Community Centre.
• The Townsville Drop-In Centre – During COVID lockdown the Townsville Drop-In Centre were purchasing regular meals from the Centre to give to people in need.
Other regular collaborations and partnerships include:
• DATSIP
• Garbutt Magpies
• Garbutt State School
• Life Without Barriers – Be Connected
• Narcotics Anonymous
• Port of Townsville
• Red Cross
• Sharing and Caring Project Vincent
• Common Ground Art and Craft Hub
• Community Kitchen
• Kids Afternoon Tea Program
• Men’s Support Group
• Off Your Rocker Senior Fitness Class
• Shine for Kids
• Stagpole Street Drug and Rehabilitation Unit
• TAIHS
• The Smith Family
• The Women’s Centre
• Townsville Community Cupboard
• Youth Justice
• YWAM
• PlayGro
• School Holiday Program
• Senior Computer Lessons
• Tiddas Yarning Circle
“From the first time that I went into the Garbutt Community Centre I was made to feel welcomed by Rebecca and the Team. My involvement with the Centre has been to support Older people that are at risk of social isolation. Rebecca has been able to identify vulnerable people and refer them to the Be Connected Program with Life Without Barriers. The Centre offers a variety of activities, support and assistance to all those who access the Centre at little to no cost. This was demonstrated earlier this year when we had to change the way we live due to COVID 19 and the Garbutt Community Centre closed to the public. During that time Rebecca and her Team cooked meals that were available to the community for $2.50 per serve, however if the person didn’t have the funds for a meal the Team still provided them with a meal. The meals also included a drop-off service if they couldn’t collect from the Garbutt Centre. Garbutt would be at a loss if the Centre didn’t exist.”
– Julie Mohrwinkel (Life Without Barriers – Be Connected)
“’Tiddas Yarning Circle enjoy a wonderful relationship with Community Gro Garbutt who is an example of excellent community service! The Centre is a culturally safe space that provides support and resources to individuals and families.”
– Florence Onus (Facilitator - TIDDAS Yarning Circle)
“I have had such a positive experience in my time here, the staff and volunteers are all very welcoming and helpful. Every day is unique, there is a large range of learning opportunities within Community Gro. This learning environment has allowed me to build connections with others, practice my interpersonal skills and grow as an up and coming Social Work
It has been an amazing year for the Upper Ross Youth Hub and with the impact of Covid, Youth Hub ceased to deliver services from March 30 to May 16. During this time youth workers continued working and engaging with families providing them with care packs, which included stationary, activities and tips for learning at home during Covid, as well as some snacks and personal hygiene packs.
Youth Drop in is operating with a more structured program. The current program now includes:
• Yarning circle each night talking with kids, including checking in with kids and seeing how they are tracking
• 2 nights a week are aimed at our moderate to high risk kids – This includes our Rock and Water program and RAGE (Renegotiating Anger and Guilty Emotions) program and is facilitated by Youth workers
• Cooking Programs
• Get Active Program in collaboration with TAIHS Lighthouse
• One on one mentoring
Over the past few months we have noticed improvement in behaviours, this is demonstrated through our regular participants reminding new participants of “Youth Drop-in” Principles. A consistent program has proven that kids are more settled and expectations are met more regularly, for example youth participants are more confident to volunteer to do an ‘Acknowledgement to Country’ before dinner without being prompted..
My vision for the Upper Ross Youth Hub is to have our own space to store games and equipment, but more important I would like for youth workers to mentor and guide our current cohort of Youth participants to be leaders for future generations.
“I like to go on computers, and I like to go “Northshore” and play basketball. I feel safe and know I wont get bashed. I love having a fat feed and like cooking.”
“I like coming to Youth because there is nothing to do at home. I like going on computers. If Im scared or in trouble I know I can go to Youth.”
“Youth is Deadly, I like to go to Northshore and play basketball. I love eating good food. I like the youth workers mainly Miss Kasey and Miss Jamie.”
