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The team would like to thank all of our members, funders, and partners for their support throughout the year. We value our members and the continued connection to community that they provide. Wishing everyone a safe and happy Christmas and look forward to working with you all in the New Year and throughout 2022.
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Team update
As most of you will know GWCommunities has undergone many changes throughout 2021, we finish out the year with a new constitution and board commencing in November. Congratulations to our new Board Members Cr Karen May, Cr Jan Clifford, Cr Gina Lacey, Anne Butcher, Carmel Daveson, Cale Hutchins, Cynthia Simpson, & Peter Tait.
We welcome Executive Officer Carol Norris to the GWCommunities team. Her role will be to maintain and increase existing relationships across the community and local governments to enhance Greater Whitsunday Communities ability to strengthen community across the region. Read more about Carol and the expertise she brings to the organisation here.
We are also pleased to announce Greater Whitsunday’s new partnership with NQPHN to deliver the Mayors Suicide Prevention Taskforce Project, which will provide an opportunity to address the concerns relative to our local communities. Guided by the six identified areas for improvement which encompass local, place-based interventions and longer term service systems change approaches. New team members Courtney and Ros reflect on their own previous experiences and skillsets which guide their approaches to planning and implementation of the Suicide Prevention Project here.
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Exciting New Project | Mayors Suicide Prevention Taskforce Project
Greater Whitsunday Communities is excited to embark on this new piece of work building on the momentum of the Council of Mayors Suicide Prevention Taskforce consultation workshop to progress the report findings into opportunities for improvement through locally developed, place-based suicide prevention interventions. Read more >
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New Collaboration | Bowen and Collinsville Community Alliance
During 2021 GW Communities have assisted in the formation of a new collaborative partnership between two existing local network groups, the Bowen Interagency Network Group (established 1996) and Bowen Collinsville Health Action Group (established 2018), to form one new network- Bowen and Collinsville Community Alliance (BCCA). Read more > |
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Update | Better Together Housing
Better Together Housing is starting to get traction across the Mackay and Whitsunday Regions, with both service providers and community groups getting on board with the project and events happening in Mackay, Bowen and Cannonvale over the past couple of months. Read more >
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Exciting New Project | Building Community and Economic Legacy
Recently, Greater Whitsunday was successful in their application with the Australian Government's Building Better Regions Fund Round 5 to establish a regional WIM Community of Practice, bringing together social and economic development practitioners, community members, Local Government stakeholders and other key representatives. Read more >
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Training opportunity | Grant Writing Workshops
Under our partnership with GW3 to promote capability and leadership within the community, Greater Whitsunday Communities will be holding a number of Grant Writing workshops across the WIM Region in 2022.
Stay tuned for more details
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Update | Youth Out Loud 1000
The Youth Out Loud project is starting to see projects and actions evolving from the data emerging out of the 750 conversations completed. While conversations area continuing with a targeted approach, we are starting to see some movement into the next steps for the project. Read more >
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Regional Connections | Carmila Community Health Day
Under the partnership activities with the Greater Whitsunday Council of Mayors, Greater Whitsunday Communities connected with the Isaac Regional Council to conduct a Community Health Day in Carmila as part of their Seniors Week activities. Read more >
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Regional Voice | Youth Round Table
Following the work Greater Whitsunday Communities completed regarding the youth unmet needs in the Mackay and Isaac Regions, GWCommunities in partnership with Cr Amanda Camm, facilitated a youth round table event to foster discussion and input from stakeholders working with young people across the Proserpine, Cannonvale and Airlie Beach communities. Read more >
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Good News Story | Local Charity Walk huge success
Greater Whitsunday Communities provide auspicing support to groups in our community to allow active participation of people in the decisions which affect their lives, through sharing our resources, information, skills and technology amongst the regional community.
The Mackay Zombie Charity was organised by a small group of passionate community members who applied to utilise the Greater Whitsunday Communities Auspice Support Program. Read more>
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Training and Support | Governance and Management
Did you know that Greater Whitsunday Communities provides tailored Governance training and support to non-government organisations? This can include:
- policy review, development and/or implementation
- management or board recruitment
- business continuity planning
- grant submissions and workshops
- auspice support
- governance workshops
During 2021,Greater Whitsunday has supported Care Kitchen with policy development and board recruitment. In November, Pioneer and Sarina Landcare attended a Governance Induction workshop. Where they learnt about the roles and responsibilities of committee members, how committees could work more effectively, conflict of interest and Code of Conduct.
Read more about our work in community governance and management capability on our website. If your committee needs governance support contact antoinette@gwcommunies.org.au to find out how we can support you.
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Resources for download | Disaster Management and Recovery- Are you prepared?
The CSIA has a suite of resources to assist organisations with every stage of planning and preparedness. You can find the full suite here or click on links below for specific resources. Available here>
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Regional Partnership | How resilient is your organisation?
Greater Whitsunday Communities is partnering up with CSIA along with 5 other regional Queensland organisations to engage other community services to create tools that will further strengthen organisational resilience and capacity based on the knowledge and experiences of these organisations. Read More>
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Greater Whitsunday Communities is recognised as a Regional peak body by State-wide peaks who rely on our organisation to voice local issues.
In October, we participated in the QCOSS Member Town Halls event held in Mackay. These events, which are held in a number of visits to localities around the state, were an opportunity for Members to shape QCOSS’ advocacy in 2022, through hearing local issues that are arising. Housing and homelessness were high on our agenda when voicing the local concerns. Visit the QCOSS Website to read more about the housing and homelessness projects they are working on. Read more >
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Alot of the work Greater Whitsunday Communities does, involves touching base and checking in with our partners and supporters across the Region. A great place for us to connect is through the DIG meetings in Glenden and Collinsville. The purpose of the DIG is to understand and address local issues and opportunities associated with existing and new developments and work collaboratively to achieve the greatest benefit for the Glenden and Collinsville Communities.
Below Left: GWCom Senior Coordinator Antoinette Du Toit with the WRC Director of Community and Environment Julie Wright at the Collinsville Development and Industry Group (DIG) meeting.
Below Right: The Glenden DIG meeting in September, where we presented on the results of the Glenden Community Survey that was recently undertaken by GWCom.
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