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2015
8 February 2015
Lifeskills sets out to bridge the distance from old premises to new
Two thousand and fifty metres.
That's the distance between Lifeskills Plus' current residence in Perry Street and the Community Centre in Oporto Road the organisation is looking to move to as soon as possible.
It's also the length of the 'Chain of Coins' Lifeskills will be looking to create at their Car Boot Sale Bonanza event on March 21.
'We're going to draw a line of the ground that's 2.05 kilometres long and line the length of it with coins that have been donated by members of the local community,' Lifeskills Plus Business and Community Liaison Officer Bob Lejeune said.
'It's very symbolic because it shows the small steps we've had to take to move from our Perry Street centre to where we want to be on Oporto Road,'
Mr Lejeune said there are tins at retailers around Mudgee where people will be able to donate coins to help make the 'Chain of Coins' a reality. Community members are also to bring along coins to the car boot sale on March 21 and place the coins down on their own.
'Every 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2 coin that we are donated helps put us one step closer to our new building,' he said.
Wilpinjong Coal have jumped at the opportunity to support Lifeskills Plus, handing out coin collecting tins to each of the staff members that will be collected in mid-March for counting.
Lifeskills Plus's Oporto Road Community Centre will house all the services currently provided by the Perry Street centre and will become the nerve centre of the Lifeskills operation.
The new centre will provide a safer and more positive environment, increase respite capacity, allow for more effective daily programming and activities, as well as making it easier to welcome community volunteers to come and share their time and interests with people at the Lifeskills centre.
Lifeskills supports more than 60 people with disabilities from Mudgee, Gulgong, Kandos, Rylstone and as far away as Running Stream at both its Perry Street and Southside centres.
The Perry Street facility provides care for around 20 people with disabilities, with numbers continuing to grow on a monthly basis through word of mouth, people leaving school, school referrals for the Out of School Hours Service and respite care, and new families coming to town1 .
7 April 2015
Chain of Coins raised $7630 for new Lifeskills Plus centre
An additional three desperately needed respite beds will be available to Mudgee families from June with Lifeskills Plus opening the doors to part of its purpose-built facility.
The announcement comes after the disability service provider raised $7,630 at its Car Boot Sale Bonanza last month.
With stage one of the project (including the respite wing) already funded, money donated will go toward finishing the second half of the building.
The event's major fundraiser - the Chain of Coins - raised more than $5,000.
With the help of Brothers 3, families laid their gold and silver coins along the trail that was symbolic of the distance between the existing Perry Street centre and the new Community Centre in Oporto Road.
'The Chain of Coins totalled at $5,280.75 which is almost spooky because $5,285.95 dollars would have been raised by the chain of coins if the whole distance between Perry Street and Oporto Road had been covered by five cent pieces,' Lifeskills business and community liaison officer, Bob Lejeune said.
'Lifeskills Plus' fundraising committee would like to thank the community for their generous donations and in particular the Peabody Energy employees of Wilpinjong Coal Mine who contributed as good as half of the amount raised by the Chain of Coins.'
Mr Lejeune thanked all those who volunteered including Brothers 3.
'At the Car Boot Sale Bonanza these young men have proven themselves as genuine community members,' Mr Lejeune said.
'Sitting down on the concrete floor with the other volunteers and members of the public, lining up hundreds and hundreds of donated coins is a picture that we will never forget.'
Due to the amount of gifts donated to the Lifeskills' boot sale stand not all could be sold and will be available at the Friends of Lifeskills garage sale next door to Harvey Norman in Mudgee on May 2 and 32 .