Autumn Mathew showed me the Bus Route to Knox City the bus number is the 664 to Knox City.

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1 Autumn 2016 Welcome. In 2016 The Next Step Bayswater welcomed several new participants. Nathan, Shen, Cailan, Jake, Brodie, and Eddie. Each of the participants bring a unique set of skills to our service and in a short space of time, have already made positive contributions. We are very excited to have the new crew with us this year and looking forward to a successful Matthew & Hattie Jazzing up the Museum Last Wednesday 24 th of February I started a new Volunteer job at the Australian Jazz Museum in Wantirna for work and doing some cleaning duties with Mathew. We did a lot of work such as sweeping the bathrooms, wiping down the sink and the mirrors, vacuuming the carpets and dusting the Library. When we start working we know where everything is. If we don t know we ask other people for help. I met Margo for the first time when I went to the Australian Jazz Museum with Tani on Wednesday 10 th February. Margo asked me lots of questions which was very hard but it became easier. I am hoping that I can do a good job to get it done perfectly I will get better. By Hattie. Mathew showed me the Bus Route to Knox City the bus number is the 664 to Knox City.

2 Blackburn South Linked in with an awesome fishing group A group from Blackburn South have been fishing at Patterson Lakes with other services from around Melbourne. Fish Care run a fishing activity out of Patterson River every fortnight. They cater for all levels of ability and for a gold coin donation Fish Care provide fishing gear and bait for all who attend. This is a great way to connect with other people while doing recreation. So far, Bruce has been lucky enough to catch a small river Perch. Chinese New Year- Year of the Monkey Blackburn South celebrated our first Chinese New Year. Participants created a Chinese Dragon made from recycled materials. Everyone enjoyed a Chinese lunch prepared by our wonderful volunteer Liz, consisting of Noodles, Dim Sims and Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup. In the afternoon participants enjoyed dancing to music and feeding the Dragon. Some participants were keen to help the dragon come alive by getting underneath it and dancing around. We are looking forward to Chinese New Year A new challenge for Mark. In February this year Mark started a Certificate 1 in Transition Education as part of the Life Skills program at the Eley Road Community House. Mark said he likes Sarah the teacher. She is very helpful. Mark says he enjoys learning new things like maths and playing snakes ladders. He has met some new friends - John, Peter, Tara and Ed. They talk about the footy at morning tea and lunch time. Mark gets to use his independent skills by making his own way to and from the Community House each Wednesday. The Belles of Broadway On Wednesday, the 10 th of February ten participants got dressed up and went to the first Midweek Matinee live show for 2016 at the Whitehorse Centre. Allan, Andrew, Bruce, Judy, Linda, Maree, Melanie, Michele, Patti and Rosie enjoyed listening to and watching Gina Hogan perform on stage in her fabulous interactive show. Gina sang her favourite songs from shows including The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Oklahoma and Mamma Mia. Staff and participants enjoyed a generous serving of music theatre, a dash of jazz and lashings of Gina s humour. We can t wait until we get to go and see the next live performance!

3 Canterbury Access All Abilities at Alphington Bowls Club The Lets Explore Group has joined a social lawn bowls program each Thursday morning. Everyone has been learning the techniques with the helpful volunteers and we have been enjoying meeting new people from other services. Derik & John are naturals at bowling, whilst Derek P enjoys being a social butterfly! Anna quotes I love the lawn bowls very much and being out in the sunshine! Scintilla Flowers Canterbury A BIG Thank you to Scintilla Flowers for their donations throughout the term. Everyone enjoys putting together flower arrangements for themselves or someone special. David has been collecting the flowers riding his bike and learning about road safety. Very much appreciated Happy 50 th Birthday Tony Tony celebrated his 50 th Birthday with all of his closet friends at the Tower Hotel. Everyone had a great time, drinking beers, dancing to live music and enjoying the finger food and birthday cake.

4 Next Step Bayswater Cardio Tennis This term, The Next Step Bayswater crew tried their hands at Cardio Tennis. The members at East Burwood Tennis Club were kind enough to donate tennis equipment to the program. Our guys got to work with Pat who is the local tennis coach at the club, working on building up fitness, hitting tennis balls and having fun along the way. Volunteering Glen Park Cafe Hi my name is Jessica. I volunteer at Glen Park Cafe. My first training day was Monday 29 th of February 2016 where I took the bus 664 to there and back. At Glen Park cafe, I sign in at 9.30am and out at 11am. I work in the kitchen; I wash the knives and forks. I also clean and wipe down the tables and sweeping. Morning break is at 10.30am. Naomi is my supervisor. I am excited about this job. Welcome Tani This year, The Next Step Bayswater welcomed a new full time staff member Tani to the service. Some of you may have already met Tani, and have seen her around other B&B services last year. Tani has already started working on various programs, she particularly enjoys the sport and information guide program. Tani likes to keep fit, she likes going to the gym and rides her bike into work daily.

5 Next Step Blackburn Food at the Barn For the past year and a half a group of participants from Blackburn have been volunteering at Food at the Barn, a free hot lunch service for people in need. The participants would set up the tables and chairs and prepare the room for lunch for approximately 70 people. Sadly the Food at the Barn program will no longer be running. On Tuesday March 2 nd a group of participants from Blackburn and Bayswater attended a farewell afternoon tea at The Barn. This was a chance to say goodbye and thank the volunteers who had contributed to the Food at the Barn. There was a good turn out of other volunteers, cooking groups and other people associated with Food at the Barn. The participants presented Richard Mallaby, Minister at the Box Hill Baptist Church, with a certificate of appreciation. The participants were given a gift for their contributions. How I am going in my first year at Burke and Beyond so far. Well, I enjoy going to the local gym on Thursday fortnights. I also have been spotting trains as they pass by. I also do travel training and I enjoyed the scavenger hunts. in the afternoons on Monday, I have Men s Group, where there are only men. On Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning I have certificate 1 in Transition education. On other Thursday afternoons I do boxing. Every Thursday we go to a gym called Urban fitness. We do some weights and use some of other equipment. We used to pay $10 and now we go to the gym for free as we have been so nice and we have been going there for years. I have been going for 3 year to the gym and enjoy it and have fun. I get fit and strong. By Jason.

6 News from the Volunteer front Autumn 2016 Time again for an update on news about our volunteers and we welcome some new faces. We have sadly lost some of last year s volunteers who have gone on to more studies or new work commitments and we wish them success. We have gained some enthusiastic and talented people which we are excited about. Their experience and diversity are a real plus to our team and program support. We are appreciative of the constant flow of applicants through Seek Volunteer and Eastern Resource Centre. Autumn is officially here, although we could be a bit confused about that given the current very warm weather, and it s time to think about new planting in our community garden program at Canterbury. We have a belated tomato crop ripening and now it s time to feed the ground, turn it over and think of winter veggies to sow. Broccoli, silver beet, cauliflower, bok choy, beans and lettuces are being considered. We are very lucky to have Rosh at Canterbury giving us a hand, some sound advice and hope we can produce a bumper crop. We are combining our two plots and they are being well looked after so we have high hopes. We would love to get a new music program started at Blackburn South next term so if you have musical friends or relatives looking to share their talent and time (1-1.5 hrs. per week) we would love to hear from them. Music and singalongs have always been so popular and inclusive it would be great to have such a program happening during the colder and wetter months when the great outdoors is less alluring. All support gratefully received. Looking forward to our new term. Cheers, Liz Volunteer Coordinator Dates for your Diary The NEW Memberships are coming soon to Burke and Beyond. Preorder now! Easter: Closed Friday 25th March. All services re-open on Wednesday 30 March Anzac Day: Closed 25th April Queen s Birthday: Closed on Monday 13th June The Entertainment Book, and the Entertainment Digital Membership, are your guide to the most popular restaurants, attractions, shopping, travel and more, all with valuable up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers. A bargain at $ Please contact Jenny F. ( ) at Blackburn South to pre-order yours today. July Break: All services finish on Friday 1st July for 2 weeks. There is a staff training day on Monday 18th July. All services will re-open on Tuesday 19th July