After 18 months and hundreds of free recreation, sports and wel-being activities delivered to people across the Bega Valley, Reclink Australia is inviting the community for its final hurrahs.
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Providing more than 27 programs per week, the organisation has been running free activities in the aftermath of the Black Summer bushfires in places from Cobargo to Kiah, ranging from ten-pin bowling, to mindfulness and movement classes, stand-up paddle boarding and other general get-together events.
The goal - to encourage people to enjoy healthy sport, active recreation and social connectedness.
Acting senior sports coordinator at Reclink, Julia Willson, said while the organisation was proving to be a success and the team would have loved to keep the programs going, Bega Valley Reclink had unfortunately reached the end of its grant funding.
Ms Willson said with the recent donation of two defibrillators by Heart 180, Bega Valley Reclink wanted to make sure the equipment made it to those who needed it most, so after some community consultation the team decided on the Murrah and Kiah community halls.
"Both halls are in remote locations with significant numbers of people living near them and getting a defibrillator when needed in an emergency wouldn't be easy," she said.
Ms Willson said they had decided to host community lunches at the Murrah Hall and the Kiah's temporary pavilion, as a means of bringing community together one last time, to not only celebrate the donations but the end of their work in the area.
"We thought with the Kiah Hall being rebuilt after the Black Summer fires this could be a really complementary event to coincide with their launch. However, since the hall hasn't opened in time, we will be hosting it at the temporary pavilion, which will still be a great occasion," she said.
Ms Willson said the donation at the Murrah Hall would also be a special occasion, not just for its benefit for people living within the area, but also in its efforts to bring people back together again, since the hall's survival of the Coolagolite fires.
"The donation at the Murrah event is just a perfect example of the hall bringing people together again," she said.
Ms Willson said the events at both halls would feature a demonstration by a qualified first aid officer, who would teach members of the community how to operate the defibrillator.
"We are really hoping this can be a day when the community can connect and enjoy socialising, while gaining valuable information on how to operate their respective defibrillators," she said.
"We will also be providing a delicious lunch for attendees, as well as offering some fun games including Finska and bocce."
The Kiah event will be hosted at the temporary pavilion near the tennis courts on Monday, March 18, starting at 1pm and finishing at 3pm. The Murrah Hall event will be hosted on Friday, March 22, from 12pm to 2pm.
Those interested in attending the event will need to RSVP for catering purposes and can do so by calling Julia Willson on 0431 531 453.