We have made significant donations to 3 local groups, which has allowed them to create positive change in their communities.

Hervey Bay Girl Guides have made their club a more inclusive environment by building a concrete path between the guide hut and the toilet block. Girls with disability, including a young guide with Cerebral Palsy, can now move easily between buildings. The addition of this path also opens up options for further developing the diversity of the club, welcoming members of all abilities.

The Let’s Play playgroup, run by Shaping Outcomes, continues to assist local families in Tweed Heads to support their children with disability. The most recent playgroup was attended by Speech Pathologist Katrina Schneider and Occupational Therapist Liz Ryan, who brought a lovely morning tea. The ladies also discovered 12 families were eligible to attend sessions with Community Health and invited them to do so. The discussion was rife around the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Shaping Outcomes staff were able to provide advice and assistance to families in need of support.

Meanwhile, further south in Victoria, Eltham High School came alive for the inaugural healthAbility Community Wellbeing Expo. The event centred on the premise that wellbeing is comprised of many elements, including physical health, personal relationships, sense of achievement, mental and emotional health, personal development, community belonging and social connectedness.

The expo included presentations by headspace and Beyond Blue, veggie gardening with Vasili from ‘Vasili’s Garden’, yoga and relaxation workshops, amusements for kids, a youth hang out space, exercise demonstrations, and general health checks. Designed to help people move well, eat well, feel well and connect well, the popular expo will surely be the first of many.

healthAbility Chairman David Brant was proud of the expo’s positive impact on the community.

“At healthAbility our vision is to inspire people and communities to be healthier and inclusive,” said Mr Brant.

“We believe that enjoying good health is not just about the absence of disease or being physically healthy. It is about the wellbeing of the whole person, within their family, work, community and social environments.”