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| Immersion Trip, South Vietnam, 2010 |
| 09-Jul-2010 |
| Rach Gia, South Vietnam |
| Click here for more information |
| Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal |
| 30-May-2010 Sunday morning for a few hours |
| Canada Bay area |
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| Carols in the Park - 21.12.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| Around 5,000 people enjoyed a peaceful and joy-filled night of Christmas celebrations at our famous Carols in the Park event at Halliday Park, Five Dock. The NSW Corrective Services Band provided the music and we were delighted to have so many talented singers to lead us in all the best loved carols. A big thank you to our partner, City of Canada Bay Council and to our sponsors, Warwick Williams Real Estate, ANZ, Coles Concord, Allways Printing, Staging Rentals, Kennards, Eveready, and Bankstown Helicopters. Our media partner was the Inner West Courier. A highlight of the night was the arrival of Santa by helicopter!
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| Communities for Communities Foundation Dinner - 11.12.09 | |||||||||||||||||
Long time supporters of Communities for Communities would know that it is a cherished dream of ours to see Communities for Communities groups set up elsewhere in Australia and overseas. And to make this dream a reality, we have formed a Communities for Communities Foundation whose task it is to promote the concept and to help faciliate other communities to get their group off the ground. We held a dinner at PJ Gallagher's to meet one another and to broadly discuss how we will proceed, starting in 2010.
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| Foundations of Community Breakfast - 8.12.09 | |||||||||||||||||
Dr Sam Prince held our sixty breakfast attendees spellbound as he told his story of how he had gained his medical qualifications and gone on to found a successful Mexican food chain as well as the E-magine Foundation which provides IT resources and education to children in disadvantaged areas around the world. Dr Prince - who is just 26 years of age - has tremendous passion and energy for making connections with others and the art of entrepreneurship. He says it is all about perceiving a need, using imagination to come up with a solution, and then having the courage to back your convictions. He is also interested in 'asking the second question.' By this he means that there are thousands of people we come into contact with every day, and each one of them may hold the key to unlocking the potential in the plans you are making. But to find out, you need to be prepared to ask the question beyond a superficial greeting - and you may be surprised where it takes you. Oliveto Ristorante proved once again to be a wonderful and welcoming venue, and we pleased to be able to host this event in partnership with the City of Canada Bay Council.
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| Annual Planning Day - 27.11.09 | |||||||||||||||||
We had a great day at Concord Golf Club reviewing how we've done this year and planning 2010. Around 14 Committee member spent all or part of the day on this task, with our theme for the day being about how to make our model sustainable for the long term.
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| Rhodes movie night: The Twilight Saga: New Moon - 19.11.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| The current interest in all things vampire was in evidence at our premiere of the second instalment in the popular Twilight series. Around 200 people came along for our movie which raised almost $2,000 for Rainbow Village. | |||||||||||||||||
| Cinema in the Park - 7.11.09 | |||||||||||||||||
2,000 people came along to our outdoor screening of 'Mamma Mia: The Movie' at Brett Park Drummoyne. We had a great night of community celebration with funds raised going towards the building of Rainbow Village, South Vietnam. We are very grateful to our partner in hosting this event, the City of Canada Bay Council.
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| 2009 Relay for Life - 31.10.09 - 1.11.09 | |||||||||||||||||
Communities for Communities was represented at the NSW Cancer Council's Relay for Life held at Sid Richards Oval, Concord. Relay for Life honours survivors of cancer and their families and supporters, and remembers those who have lost their battle with the disease. Thank you to Rebecca Hansson for organising our team.
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| 6th Annual Women's Luncheon - 23.10.09 | |||||||||||||||||
Our Annual Women's Luncheon lived up to its reputation as one of our most spirited and lively events! More than 120 women and a few brave men came along to beautiful Angelo's on the Bay at Cabarita, where we enjoyed champagne cocktails on the veranda, then a delicious three course meal. MC Margaret Munoz did a great job keeping the event humming along, we enjoyed hearing from Guest Speaker Lesley Pinter who spoke about her experience as a volunteer on the Immersion Trip to Rainbow Village in South Vietnam in April, and we had plenty of fun and games too. All proceeds go towards building Rainbow Village - a housing and community project we are supporting in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. Thank you to Jacque Weaver, Donna Kelly, Margaret Munoz and Susan MacGregor for all their work in organising the event. Thank you too, to our major sponsors Warwick Williams Real Estate, Beautywell and z3nwealth.com, our Patron and host of the event, Angela D'Amore MP as well as the many businesses who supported us by supplying prizes.
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| Sustainability Award - 7.9.09 | |||||||||||||||||
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On 7th September, Communities for Communities received the award for Community Partner at the City of Canada Bay Sustainability Awards. The award was won jointly with the Touched by Olivia Foundation and was presented at a dinner at Dede's Restaurant. Photographed is Lance Brooks, Jacque Weaver and Margaret Munoz of Communities for Communities receiving our award from Mayor Angelo Tsirekas. |
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| Foundations of Community Breakfast - 18.8.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| We were thrilled to have local HR expert, Di Pass as our speaker at our second breakfast for the year. More than 80 people turned out on a bright Winter's morning at Angelo's on the Bay and enjoyed the chance to network, a delicious hot breakfast and the opportunity to listen to Di's inspiring presentation. Di, along with her husband John, support the Australian Paralympic Team and sponsor paralympian athlete, Kurt Fearnley through their business, 360HR. Di believes that it is possible for everyone to consider doing something meaningful rather than just doing something ordinary in their daily lives. As an example, she said that companies could consider buying corporate gifts via a charity such as Oxfam, rather than the usual corporate gifts. The same is true for business lunches and Christmas cards and the like - it is often possible to find an alternative to the mainstream offerings that will benefit someone in need. Overall, Di has lived a very full and rewarding life and her story was a very uplifting and empowering way to start the day! Foundations of Community Breakfasts are held regularly in partnership with the City of Canada Bay Council, with each one presenting an inspirational Australian who is applying their business skills in ways that create social benefits.
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| Ferragosto - 16.8.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| We enjoyed being part of this celebration of Italian culture held on a glorious sunny day in Five Dock. Many of our volunteers manned our stall for the day, and we were able to speak with several dozen people about Communities for Communities. Some had read about us via the newspaper and others were hearing about Communities for Communities for the first time. Several people expressed an interest in helping as volunteers and many people signed up as subscribers to be kept up to date with our events. Many thanks to our volunteers for their help on the day.
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| Masquerade Ball - 14.8.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| Our third annual Charity Ball at the beautiful Le Montage on 14 August well and truly lived up to the success and fun of its predecessors. The theme was a 'Masquerade Ball' and our 260+ attendees got into the spirit of things with great enthusiasm. Ann Roberts, Principal at Lucas Gardens made a moving and inspiring presentation showcasing their wonderful students. Our charity auction was a huge hit, and with our many generous donors and sponsors, it looks like we have made $50,000 which will go to Lucas Gardens to help build a new hydrotherapy pool and associated program. This will be a fantastic asset as the students can enjoy a freedom and mobility in the water that is not usually possible for them. Jelly Bean Jam did a great job with the music and the dance floor was packed right until the end of the night. Our thanks to our organising Committee who worked tirelessly on many fronts to make the evening such a wonderful event, and our thanks too to our many sponsors and business donors. For a list of sponsors, please refer to our partners page. Here are some shots from the night - enjoy! (Double click on an image to get started.)
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| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 15.7.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| We had an enthusiastic turn-out for our premiere of the sixth in the Harry Potter series. Around 260 people came along, and also got to witness our very own premiere of the film of the Immersion Trip to Rainbow Village in April. It provided another chance to engage with our community and to tell the story of our partner community. Our thanks to Jim Morgan and and all the staff at Reading Cinema at Rhodes who help us make this event happen. Our thanks also go to local schools, churches and media who helped promote this event. All proceeds go towards building Rainbow Village in South Vietnam - a project we are undertaking with Habitat for Humanity. |
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| 2009 AGM and '2008 - Our year in review' - 22.6.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| Around 30 people came along to celebrate our successes of 2008. Lance provided an overview of the achievements of the year, including engaging our community through the 17 events we ran, and our support towards the communities of Rainbow Village in South Vietnam and Lucas Gardens School in Five Dock. We were pleased to present Certificates of Appreciation to Drummoyne, Haberfield, Five Dock and Concord Rotary Clubs who have been great supporters at many of our events. Lance also presented Certificates of Appreciation to several members of our Committee who had stood down in the past year or so. These included Matt Fitzpatrick, Geoff Power, Mark Calleja and David Lunn and we expressed our gratitude to them all for the substantial way each had helped grow Communities for Communities. Derek Ebbs, Jacque Weaver, Margaret Munoz, David Lunn and Jonathan Finger then told their stories of how being involved with Communities for Communities has touched their lives. Their stories conveyed an amazing array of connectedness and sense of purpose each had felt through their involvement. Phil and Ash Wing provided a video story of how Rainbow Village has evolved starting with the journey of the original inhabitants of the dump, to the creation of a school and houses that exists now. We finished with a photo presentation of 2008 - capturing the magic of each of event and the communities we touch through our work.
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| Red Shield Appeal, 24.5.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| For several years, Communities for Communities has enlisted hundreds of volunteers to help the Salvation Army with their Red Shield Appeal. We were pleased to be able to help again for the 2009 Appeal held in May at which we had 285 volunteers doorknocking thousands of homes in Canada Bay. The proceeds of the doorknock plus some generous corporate donations amounted to $96,000 - a wonderful result which is testimony to the respect in which the Salvo's great work is held. Our thanks to our enthusiastic team of volunteers and their team captains for helping make the day such a success. It was another great day where we were able to celebrate the importance and power of community! |
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| Immersion Trip to Rainbow Village, April 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
| Twenty three volunteers signed up to be part of our Immersion Trip to Rainbow Village which departed Sydney on 17 April. This project - to build safe houses for around 90 families who have previously spent generations living in perilous circumstances on a rubbish tip - is being conducted in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. Our volunteers each had to leave 10kg 'spare' in their luggage so that they could take a heap of sporting equipment, books, colouring pencils, crayons and more that had been donated by local schools including St Marks, All Hallows and Five Dock Public School. The group stayed in Rach Gia and were given an orientation of the working site on their first day. Thoung (a Community Development Manager) and Ngan (a Global Village Co-ordinator) looked after the team during their stay. Rainbow Village is being built about 20mins by bus from Rach Gia. Each day after breakfast, the team would travel to Rainbow Village to begin work for the day. There were various jobs to be done including brick laying, assembling the steel framework, wheelbarrowing sand, rocks or cemet, and helping with setting the floor. Members of the group would volunteer for particular tasks, and usually swap around as the week went on. Each night, dinner was enjoyed together at one of the many local restaurants. One afternoon, the team visited a local orphanage/school that also catered for students with disabilities. Around half of the equipment they had brought was handed over for use by the students. The remainder was given to the school that has been built as part of Rainbow Village. "It is wonderful to see the interest that people from so far away have taken in our plight," said Thoung. By the end of the group's stay, six houses had been constructed up to the roof level. The group had made many new friends and promised to come back to help again in the future. "Trips like this really open our eyes to what life is like for people here," said Communities for Communities President, Lance Brooks. "It is wonderful to see how happy the people are, even in spite of what we would regard as extraordinarily difficult circumstances. And through our time here, our team that ranged in age from 15-65 years bonded really well, with all the boundaries that often exist between people fading away as we worked together on this important project," he said. Here are some photos from the trip:
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| 8th Annual Trivia Night 3.4.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| Our 8th Annual Trivia Night had a very successful turnout with almost 300 people enjoying a great night out at Concord RSL. There were two MCs hosting the trivia, some fun games with the crowd such as heads and tails as well as a silent and live auction. The event raised over $20,000 towards the Rainbow Village project. The event would not have been possible without the support of Concord RSL, the wonderful contributions from our donors who contributed many prize items and the help of many community members from local high schools and Canada Bay community. Our thanks for Charlie Powell and Leoni Ebbs for keeping us entertained throughout the night. And of course, the continued support of our local community. See you in 2010! Here are some photos from the event:
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| Foundations of Community Breakfast 31.3.09 | |||||||||||||||||
| On a rainy Tuesday morning, we enjoyed a delicious hot breakfast overlooking the bay at Sanders Waterfront Restaurant in Cabarita. Around 50 people came along to hear our guest speaker, Rob McLean speak about his work with SVA, a social venture philanthropic organisation. Rob believes that many of the challenges we face as a society can be overcome by applying entrepreneurial skills and thinking in coming up with solutions. Our Foundations of Community breakfasts are hosted in conjunction with the City of Canada Bay Council, featuring inspiring Australians who have applied their business skills to social ventures that benefit people and communities. Here are some photos from the breakfast:
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| Annual Charity Golf Day 29.1.09 Our 7th Annual Charity Golf Day at Concord Golf Club lived up to its reputation as a fantastic day out. Around 130 golfers enjoyed lunch and refreshments at the club house before heading out for 18 holes with plenty of competition and some novelty holes. Lots of volunteers from the community, Habitat for Humanity and the NSW Cancer Council were on hand to help the day run smoothly. Dinner was a delicious BBQ with great auctioneering done by Charlie Powell (and his 'twin brother' providing a lively comedy act complete with plenty of rather surprising sound effects!). Our thanks to our speakers Nick Alexander and David Benn from Habitat for Humanity who provided great insight into the challenges faced by the community for whom Rainbow Village is being built in South Vietnam. It was great to see slides showing the progress being made in the building of facilities for these families. We are also very grateful to all our sponsors on the day. We hope to be able to build around 15 homes for families in Rainbow Village as a result of all the support we received which is a wonderful result. A special vote of thanks to all the volunteers who served on the organising committee - we could not have done it without you! Here are some shots from the day: |
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| Last Updated 23-Dec-2009 11:03 PM |
