Hi all

After a restful January for us (and a productive one we hope for the the amazing volunteers who ran Project Stationery from ACC over the last 5 weeks) we are back in the office from tomorrow (Tuesday).

And we are looking forward to seeing you.

We have an action packed agenda coming up for the first half of 2025 - which is all outlined in our new brochure. We will have it available to collect at ACC and at the Library, or you can check it out here.

We have a new cooking and lunch program on Mondays this year - Garden to Plate, where we will use seasonal food to cook a meal and sit down together to eat it. Come along to learn some new recipes and have a great meal. It is free but bookings are required as spots are limited.

We are also proposing a new night time dinner on Thursdays called The Supper Club. If you are a mum at home sick of cooking or any other carer who needs a break, if you live alone and would like some regular company for dinner or you are new to the neighbourhood this could be ideal for you! Come along weekly. We hope those attending will not just enjoy a nourishing meal but also the opportunity to make new local connections/friendships. Book in here.

For those of you interested in living more sustainably, we have some super workshops on in second term, including Sewing Machine Repair, Overlocker Repair and Clothes Mending. These workshops are partly funded by Yarra City Council’s Climate Emergency team. And they complement our new Thrift Seekers Op Shop Tours (we are hosting one a term this year thanks to some funding from our lovely friends at the Community Bank on Queens Parade). Our first one is coming up soon on Saturday 8 March at 10am when we’ll be heading to Abbotsford - it should be lots of fun! You can book into all these programs here.

This semester we also have the Alphington Show coming up - on Saturday 29 March. So … start baking your bread, nourishing your garden, making your jam and crafting your heart out. We look forward to seeing all your entries … we’ll have the paperwork for the Show - with all the official categories etc. - out in the next week or so (we hope).

We have a couple of spots left in our Book Clubs that will start up in February - 1 spot in our 2nd Monday evening, 2 spots on Tuesday evening and 3 spots on Thursday evening - if you are keen share books with others. You could even join up with a friend …

It is going to be a busy few weeks getting everything up and running but we are really looking forward to seeing you again. Our first Community Lunch starts up this Friday - come along to catch up - craft, gardening and community shed activities from 10am, and lunch is at 12pm.

See you soon.

Leanne

Hi all, Happy New Year.

FOOD FOOD FOOD

With some new funding via the State Government ‘Community Food Relief’ program, we are creating more opportunities for our community to build social connections through food. Sharing a meal regularly is a great way for locals to get to know each other. And with our new kitchen up and running we are in the ideal position to build community food opportunities this year - so we feel super lucky that this fortuitous funding has come along.

We have five food related programs on offer in 2025, and we’d love for you to come along!

• Garden to Plate (NEW) - Learn to cook seasonal food and then enjoy sharing a meal, on Mondays from 11.30am 1pm. This is a free program, but you must book in online as places are limited.

• Thursday Supper Club (NEW) - Do you often eat alone? Are you tired of cooking and/or keen to make some local friends over a meal? Come along and enjoy a healthy weekly ‘family meal from 5-6.30pm (perfect if you don’t like to be out too late at night). Term 1 costs $40 (that’s $5 a week). ’ - food provided but as a group you will need to set the table, serve up, do the dishes etc. - just like you would a home. This program starts on Thursday 13 February. Click here to join up. If cost is an issue for you just call our office.

• Community Lunch - our Friday lunch continues in 2025, join in from 12pm, or come along earlier to catch up over gardening, craft and community shed activities from 10am. This is a free program, but please let know to expect you - call or email.

• Crunch - Like good food? Enjoy being creative? Thursday lunches are for you! Join us from 12.30pm -2pm for lunch followed by a creative arts activity - painting, drawing, 3D art … and more. Book in for the term or by the week here.

• Preserves Group - join us on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 1-3pm to help us turn excess garden produce/ seasonal fruit and vegetables into jams, chutneys and pickles for fundraising. We use donated jars and ingredients (donations always welcome) … and we’ll thank you for your volunteering efforts with good conversations and a light afternoon tea (including a fancy coffee)! Email us here if you’d like to join in. This group is coordinated through What’s App.

ALSO on to other things … join a Book Club

We have a couple of spots in each of our Book Clubs in 2025. They are on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with a daytime group meeting on Thursdays at 10am. Our Book Clubs meet monthly from February (when you come along and collect your first book) and finish up in December. You’ll read 10 books for the year supplied by Darebin Libraries. Our Book Clubs are a great way to meet other locals! Keen to join up? Book in here!

AND … there’s lots more.

• Op Shop Tours

• Sustainability/Repair Workshops

• Art Classes

• Access All Abilities IAAA) programs

• Playgroups

• Music and Dancing Groups and Classes

• Fitness Classes

Check out our full program here. And book in here.

I’ll highlight some of the other great things we’re super excited about in the coming few weeks.

I hope you are having a good break/relaxing summer.

Cheers Leanne

Hi all, a reminder that if you come to ACC we’d really appreciate if you could fill out our participant survey this week. Just click here.

Alternatively, you can scan the QR code below. Or you can complete a hard copy in the office … but ONLINE IS BEST.

The survey is about what you do at ACC, why you come along and how attending ACC makes you feel - particularly in relation to community connections.

Thanks so much for taking the time!

A short post this week, with a few reminders.

• We have Crunch on Thursday at 12.30pm. $15 for a delicious lunch and a creative activity.

• Come along on Friday at 10.30am for morning tea and have a chat with Clare about our multi-use garden. It should be interesting. This Garden Tour is part of Urban Agriculture month.

• Next week we have Preserves Group at 1pm on Tuesday and Movie Club on in the evening. We’ll let you know the movie and the time later this week.

• We’ll be getting ready for the Makers Market on Saturday 23 November from 11am-2pm which also coincides with the start of the Alphington Open Studios weekends. We are once again really looking forward to hosting local artists here at ACC and the market is always a great local community event. We hope you can make it.

Also, next week we’ll be participating in the 4 yearly Community Survey that is run by our peak body Neighbourhood Houses Victoria (NHVic). We’ll have QR codes around our site and will ask everyone who comes along to take two minutes to participate and complete the survey. The survey really helps us build a picture of the value of our house in terms of community need for our services and why and how people engage with us … and it is fundamental to securing our ongoing funding as a sector - so we’d be really grateful if you participated. Keep an eye out for the QR codes if you are here!

Lots on (still) as we roll into the end of the year … see you soon.

Leanne

We’ve had an abundance of lemon 🍋 donations (thanks everyone) - and Clare is keen to share how to make your own cleaner with them. It’ll make your house smell delightful! And … is very effective.

So, we are going to run a pop-up workshop on Thursday 12 September from 11am for an hour. The cost is $10. You can book in using the link below.

BYO passata size jar (or 2 or 3 or 4) - you might have some you could share? Clare will take you through the steps. We’ll make you a fancy coffee!

It’ll be lovely.

Register here if you are keen to come along.