The Mirboo North Community Recovery Fund in the Community Foundation continues to make small grants to support the community in recovery.
This fund was set up post-storm and has been generously supported by local donors and those further afield.
Thanks to these donors we have given out a range of small grants. Most recently there has been a grant to support a seminar on mental health and resilience and another to bring six free arts workshops to Mirboo North.
Grant Initiatives and Community Support
The session on mental health and resilience is being run at the Walter J Tuck Rec Reserve Rooms by Outisde the Locker Room and will take place from 7pm – 8pm on Tuesday 30th April. The session is hosted by the Mirboo North Football Netball Club (‘MNFNC) but free to all young people in the community who want to identify and support individuals facing a mental health challenge or learn more about resilience. MNFNC was intending to run this session even prior to the storm event, but the need for it has only become more pressing. For those interested in going along, you will also be able to enjoy free pizza on the night.
Upcoming Events and Workshops
If dance, shadow art or lantern making are more your thing, then the series of free workshops run by Douglas Gilbert and Margie Mackay at the Grainstore will be worth booking.
The dance workshops will take place each Wednesday from 4pm – 6pm for the first three Wednesdays in May (1st, 8th and 15th). Douglas is a choreographer, dancer and perfomer who will share his knowledge of hip hop and contemporary dance moves developing a group dance over the three sessions.
The shadow art and lantern making workshops will be run by local artist Margie Mackay, who ran the Winterfest lantern making workshops in 2023 (and made the large powerful owl lantern for Winterfest). These free workshops will take place from 6pm-8pm on three Friday evenings in the coming weeks – Friday 26th April, 3rd May and 10th May.
Arising from these workshops there is also an opportunity to be part of a larger community art project called ‘Conference of the Birds’ which is taking place on 25th May in Centenary Park, Boolarra. This inclusive art event is about celebrating connectedness, First Nations peoples and cultures and the natural worlds, all very relevant to us after the events of the last few months. Even if you are not able to get involved with the workshops, the community event will be one to keep your eye out for.
You can find out more or book into a workshop on www.douglasandmackay.com
If there are projects or programs you would like to see rolled out in the community to assist with our recovery, please reach out by email (info@mirboodistrictfoundation.org.au), phone (0418 301 09210) or drop into Co-space / Recovery Centre for a chat.