Community transport and care organisation, ComLink is searching for volunteer drivers to offer their precious time to help others in need.

ComLink is a not-for profit organisation and charity providing community transport and care for the frail aged and younger people with a disability to attend medical appointments, shop and maintain their social inclusion from North Brisbane and throughout the Sunshine Coast.

ComLink Chief Executive, Feda Adra said drivers were a vital part of ComLink and without them, we wouldn’t be able to continue providing our valuable services to the community.

“We are in particular need of bus drivers that hold a current small or medium rigid license, but all drivers are welcome.

“We have about 70 volunteer drivers but only a handful who can drive buses and due to this shortage, we sometimes have to cancel bus runs,” Ms Adra said.

Kitty Orreill, bus driver of 48 years and a dedicated ComLink volunteer driver for two years, said she gets a ‘buzz’ from volunteering and helping others.

“Volunteering is a great way to keep busy, meet new people, laugh and have a lot of fun.

“ComLink is great, they are incredibly flexible and make you feel like your time is valued,” Kitty said.

Warana resident, Yvonne Parsons has been using ComLink services for four years, being no longer able to drive due to poor eyesight. Ms Parsons, who is a regular on Kitty’s bus route and uses the service to complete her weekly shopping and visit the library, said the service was just marvelous and has helped her maintain her independence.

“It’s more than just a transport service, it’s also about the social connections and the friends you make,” Ms Parsons said.

“Kitty is an absolute treasure and we all love her – it is a classic day out,” Ms Parsons said.

Elsie Padley, another regular ComLink client, who has been using the service since her husband passed away seven years ago said she didn’t know how she would have managed without ComLink transport.

“We are so lucky to live on the Sunshine Coast and have a service like this,” Ms Padley said.

Ms Adra said ComLink services more than 3,800 clients and many of them rely on ComLink as their only means of transport.

“ComLink also provides transport to a range of organised outings including picnics, Christmas lights, trips to the RSL, Anzac Day dawn services and our regular social meet-ups including Kawana Companions every Monday,” Ms Adra said.

“Everyone working for ComLink is considered family and volunteers can come and go as they please, the level of commitment is completely up to them,” Ms Adra said.

If you are interested in becoming a ComLink volunteer, please contact Mobility Manager Robyn Elkojje on 1300 761 011.

Image: Volunteer driver Kitty Orreill with ComLink client Yvonne Parsons.

Australia’s Crochet Queen, Jenny King has joined together with US craft and publishing powerhouse, Annie’s, to release a new book of patterns especially designed to highlight the beauty of Noro Yarns.

The book,Fashions to flaunt crocheted with Noro Yarns,is filled with over 40 pages of Jenny’s exclusive crochet designs including scarves, vests, cardigans, hats, skirts and plenty more, with patterns ranging from beginner to advanced.

Jenny said she was really excited about releasing the book in Australia, after successfully launching the book recently in the US.

“I was originally going to self-publish, but after mentioning the book to an old friend that works for Annie’s, they jumped at the chance to be involved,” Jenny said.

The book is the second in a popular series Jenny has published with Annie’s, with the third planned for release in February 2013.

“The first book’Learn to do Bavarian Crochet’was a huge success and has just be translated into Russian so I hop this book will be just as popular,” Jenny said.

“Noro is a Japanese designer yarn and it is one of my favourite yarns to work with,” Jenny said.

“This yarn is very unique, being made of natural minerals with vivid, variegated colours inspired by nature, so no two garments are ever the same,” Jenny said.

“I have designed the patterns to highlight the beautiful colours and texture of this yarn which is just perfect for the Australian climate.”

Jenny, who has been crocheting since being taught two simple stitches when she was just 8, has been passing on her love of crochet since the 1990s and is the author of 15 crochet books and countless patterns that cover everything from intricate beading, bags and jewellery to swimwear.

Jenny is internationally recognised as one of the world’s most talented crochet designers, having her designs featured in publications including Vogue Knitting Crochet Magazine, Interweave Crochet, and Britain’s premier crochet magazine, Inside Crochet. She has also taught crochet around Australia and internationally including the US and offers a range of classes from her Sunshine Coast shop, JK Designs.

“Crochet is a rapidly growing trend and continues to increase in popularity as more and more crochet fashions appear on cat walks around the world,” Jenny said.

“I believe, that this, in part, has revived the lost art of crochet and prompted people to want to learn the craft themselves,” Jenny said.

Jenny’s new book, Fashions to flaunt crocheted with Noro Yarns, retails for $20 and is available to purchase from Jenny King Designs, Shop 1, 932 David Low Way, Marcoola and via the website www.jennykingdesigns.com.

The Cotton Tree Markets is spreading the Christmas spirit this year with entertainment and visits from Santa during the month of December.

The markets, now managed by Bloomhill Cancer Help, are held every Sunday at King Street, Cotton Tree and for the month of December will have live music, carols, raffles with the chance to win Christmas hams and special visits from Santa between 9am to 11am.

Bloomhill Cancer Help, General Manager, Mervat Thompson said it was a great opportunity for kids to meet Santa and tell him their Christmas wishes.

“You can even bring your camera and have photos taken,” Mervat said.

“Santa’s helper will also be on-hand and for those who miss out on seeing Santa, there will be a magic letterbox available for kids to post letters to the North Pole,” Mervat said.

The Cotton Tree Markets operate every Sunday from 7am to 12pm and feature a range of local fashion, homewares, toys, sculptures, skin care, jewellery, art and crafts plus plenty more.

“The markets are a great place to pick up unique Christmas gifts made from local artisans,” Mervat said.

“Our stallholders are transforming their stalls with Christmas decorations, making it a festive street and fun outing for the family,” she said.

Bloomhill Cancer Help is a Sunshine Coast based charity and provides support and assistance to those affected by cancer. Operated by a team of dedicated staff and hundreds of volunteers, Bloomhill offers counselling, transport to appointments, respite care and a range of complementary therapies and other practical help.

Revenue from stallholder site fees is placed back into the community through Bloomhill’s services and programs, enabling Bloomhill to provide support to a greater number of people during their time of need.

“By shopping at the Cotton Tree Markets you are helping to support those with cancer on the Coast,” Mervat said.

“We invite everyone to come down and join in the festivities, enjoy the markets and the wonderful shopping and cafes in the Cotton Tree precinct,” Mervat said.

“We are always on the lookout for new and unique stallholders, so please contact us if you would like to register your interest,” Mervat said.

For more information or to register your interest in becoming a part of the Cotton Tree Markets, please visit www.cottontreemarkets.com.au or email cottontreemarkets@bloomhill.com.au

NORTH QUEENSLAND – A job can literally change lives – just ask Leigh Billman from Townsville, who got a job as part of the MAX Employment Greatest Gift campaign.

After being unemployed on and off for six years, MAX Employment worked with Leigh over a 12-month period providing training and support before placing him at Pickerings Auto.

Leigh, who is known as Le-Roy to his new workmates, credits his new job as a car detailer with turning his life around.

And the MAX Employment team are on a mission to do the same for other job seekers. They are calling on more employers to put a job forward so they can find 10,000 jobs for unemployed people across Australia and give them the greatest gift for Christmas.

Leigh said before getting his job with Pickerings, he had no direction and used to turn to alcohol to break up the monotony of his days.

“I am so happy with my new job and MAX were really great – they really helped get me ready for the interview including buying me clothes and driving me to the interview,” he said.

“I love everything about my new job. Pickerings Auto is a great company and the guys I work with are fantastic. Getting this job has changed my life. My family will have the best Christmas ever this year!”

And the job placement has been great for Pickerings Auto as well.  Pre-Delivery Manager Adam Bepole said Leigh had exceeded their expectations.

“Leigh is a pleasure to have around and has fitted in perfectly.”

Mr Bepole said they had been working with MAX Employment for years so didn’t hesitate to hire Leigh on their recommendation.

“We always look for reliability and initiative in our employees and the team at MAX know that.  We have had so much success with them and they help arrange employment training and government incentives for the employees they bring to us as well.”

MAXNetWork Managing Director Deborah Homewood said there were more than 600,000 families in Australia with children under 15 years of age where neither parent was working.*

“This has serious impacts not just economically but in terms of the wellbeing of the whole family.

“Many of us don’t have to face these challenges so we forget, but think about when you got your first job, or when you were congratulated for a job well done – it is not just about the advantages that come with bringing home a pay cheque but also the improved physical and mental health benefits.

“This is why we are urging employers everywhere to think about whether they have a job opportunity to offer and join us in giving someone that greatest gift.”

As part of the Job Services Australia network, MAX Employment offers no cost recruitment services to employers. Employers may also be eligible to receive government financial assistance to help with the cost of hiring and training new employees.

Ms Homewood said ideally MAX Employment would like to find long-term positions, either full-time or part-time, but she said even a seasonal job would provide a job seeker with additional income, and provide new skills and experience.

She said the jobs could be across any industry including hospitality, retail, business administration, transport and logistics, trade and the care industry including aged and childcare.

“Giving people a job improves their financial situation and helps them house and feed their families. It also improves their self-worth and makes them more confident. All this has a ripple effect, impacting not only on the person with the job but on their family, their friends and their community.

“Employers can register at our website – www.maxjobs.com.au – or freecall 1800 625 350.

“MAX Employment encourages you to register and be part of the campaign regardless of whether you have a current vacant position.”

Ms Homewood said while the primary goal of the campaign was to help more people find employment, MAX Employment would also make a charity donation to help even more low-income families.

In 2011, the MAX Employment Christmas jobs campaign secured over 10,000 new jobs and MAX Employment also donated $100,000 to The Smith Family further assisting Australian families experiencing hardship.

“So if you are an employer, register online – www.maxjobs.com.au – or call us today – freecall 1800 625 350. Together we can make a huge impact, giving people the greatest gift for Christmas.”

SOUTH AUSTRALIA – A job can literally change lives – just ask Nicole Moiler from Elizabeth, who got a job as part of the MAX Employment Greatest Gift campaign.

After working with MAX, Nicole now has a great administration job with Think Labour.

For Nicole the new job has meant not only is she no longer reliant on Centrelink benefits, but she also has a new career path.

And the MAX Employment team are on a mission to do the same for other job seekers. They are calling on more employers to put a job forward so they can find 10,000 jobs for unemployed people across Australia and give them the greatest gift for Christmas.

“Getting this job has set up a career for me to go further in office administration as I am also studying my Certificate III in Business,” Nicole said.

Nicole said once that was completed she was also going to complete her Certificate IV.

Think Labour owner Daniel Custance said employing Nicole through MAX Employment had been such a breeze, they were now recruiting more staff using them.

“MAX were great – they really listened to what we were looking for and organised interviews for me with four suitable candidates.  Once we decided on Nicole they even helped us to access government incentives that I didn’t even know we were eligible for,” Mr Custance said.

“Nicole has been with us for 17 weeks now and we are really happy with her.  She has even progressed from her administration role to being part of our sales team,” he said.

“We look forward to more staff like Nicole starting with us soon through MAX – its also great to know we are contributing to the Greatest Gift campaign as well.”

MAXNetWork Managing Director Deborah Homewood said there were more than 600,000 families in Australia with children under 15 years of age where neither parent was working.*

“This has serious impacts not just economically but in terms of the wellbeing of the whole family.

“Many of us don’t have to face these challenges so we forget, but think about when you got your first job, or when you were congratulated for a job well done – it is not just about the advantages that come with bringing home a pay cheque but also the improved physical and mental health benefits.

“This is why we are urging employers everywhere to think about whether they have a job opportunity to offer and join us in giving someone that greatest gift.”

As part of the Job Services Australia network, MAX Employment offers no cost recruitment services to employers. Employers may also be eligible to receive government financial assistance to help with the cost of hiring and training new employees.

Ms Homewood said ideally MAX Employment would like to find long-term positions, either full-time or part-time, but she said even a seasonal job would provide a job seeker with additional income, and provide new skills and experience.

She said the jobs could be across any industry including hospitality, retail, business administration, transport and logistics, trade and the care industry including aged and childcare.

“Giving people a job improves their financial situation and helps them house and feed their families. It also improves their self-worth and makes them more confident. All this has a ripple effect, impacting not only on the person with the job but on their family, their friends and their community.

“Employers can register at our website – www.maxjobs.com.au – or freecall 1800 625 350.
“MAX Employment encourages you to register and be part of the campaign regardless of whether you have a current vacant position.”

Ms Homewood said while the primary goal of the campaign was to help more people find employment, MAX Employment would also make a charity donation to help even more low-income families.

In 2011, the MAX Employment Christmas jobs campaign secured over 10,000 new jobs and MAX Employment also donated $100,000 to The Smith Family further assisting Australian families experiencing hardship.

“So if you are an employer, register online – www.maxjobs.com.au – or call us today – freecall 1800 625 350. Together we can make a huge impact, giving people the greatest gift for Christmas.”

Kawana Companions, a Centre-based Day Care Service (CBDC), will mark 25 years of service on the Sunshine Coast with a celebration on Monday, 12 November.

Established in 1987, Kawana Companions is an innovative centre-based day care program for the youth, aged and disability sectors, provided by community transport and care organisation, ComLink.

ComLink Chief Executive Feda Adra said the program was based on a seniors’ social club model and aimed to address social isolation for the frail aged and younger people with a disability.

“Since Kawana Companions began 25 years ago, the program has continued to grow quickly mostly through word of mouth because our clients love the program so much,” Ms Adra said.

“At the first meeting there were nine clients and almost as many volunteers but now the centre caters for more than 150 registered clients and over 30 volunteers,” Ms Adra said.

“In fact, one of our regular clients describes Kawana Companions as her ‘weekly dose of vitamins’,” she said.

The event will be held at the Kawana Community Hall from 10am and will see more than 140 clients and over 30 volunteers come together to celebrate over morning tea and lunch, with entertainment provided by the ‘Scotchy Pocket Songbird’ a country and western singer.

Teachers and students from the Caloundra State High School “Lighthouse Group” will also assist on the day setting up tables and chairs, serving and cleaning up lunch.

There will also be five 25-years service awards for Joy, Val, Margaret, Lesley and Trudi, who have volunteered with Kawana Companions since it began. Certificates of acknowledgement will also be awarded to 16 clients that have been with Kawana Companions since the first 10 years of opening.

“These are services we just wouldn’t be able to provide without our volunteers, which is why it is so important for us to recognise them as part of the 25 year celebration,” Ms Adra said.

Kawana Companions is held every Monday from 10am to 1pm in the Kawana Community Hall. ComLink provides a door-to-door transport service to and from the program for clients with limited mobility.

ComLink is a not-for profit organisation and charity providing community transport and care for the frail aged and younger people with a disability to attend medical appointments, shop and maintain their social inclusion from North Brisbane, throughout the Sunshine Coast and north to Bundaberg.

MAX Employment wants to give unemployed Queenslanders the greatest gift for Christmas – a job that will lead to a better future for them and their families.

With Queensland’s unemployment rate sitting at 6.3%, the second highest in the country behind Tasmania, and job cuts across the public sector and other industries there are many families struggling to get by.

That is why MAX Employment wants employers to join them in brightening up Christmas by offering an unemployed person a job.

MAX NetWork Managing Director Deborah Homewood said for the second year running MAX Employment was aiming to find 10,000 jobs across Australia for Christmas as part of their Greatest Gift Campaign.

“With all the uncertainty in Queensland in the past few months, we believe now is the perfect time for employers to join with us to help relieve some of this hardship,” Ms Homewood said.

In September 2012, there were 2,200 less people employed in Queensland compared to the previous month, with full-time employment falling by 900, and part-time employment falling by 1,300.

Queensland figures show that there were 139,700 unemployed people in September 2012, with 23,100 of those being unemployed for 52 weeks or more. This compares to 137,000 unemployed people in September 2011.

Ms Homewood said too many families were living in poverty because of unemployment, causing not just financial issues, but serious emotional and mental health problems as well.

“Many of us don’t have to face these challenges so we forget, but think about when you got your first job, or when you were congratulated for a job well done – it is not just about the advantages that come with bringing home a pay cheque but also the improved physical and mental health benefits.

“This is why we are urging employers everywhere to think about whether they have a job opportunity to offer and join us in giving someone the greatest gift.”

As part of the Job Services Australia network, MAX Employment offers no cost recruitment services to employers. Employers may also be eligible to receive government financial assistance to help with the cost of hiring and training new employees.

Ms Homewood said ideally MAX Employment would like to find long-term positions, either full-time or part-time, but she said even a seasonal job would provide a job seeker with additional income, and provide new skills and experience.

She said the jobs could be across any industry including hospitality, retail, business administration, transport and logistics, trade and the care industry including aged and child care.

“Giving people a job improves their financial situation and helps them house and feed their families. It also improves their self-worth and makes them more confident. All this has a ripple effect, impacting not only on the person with the job but on their family, their friends and their community.

“Wouldn’t it be great if Queensland led every other state with the number of jobs we can create through this campaign?” Ms Homewood said.

“Employers can register at our website – www.maxjobs.com.au – or freecall 1800 625 350.

“MAX Employment encourages you to register and be part of the campaign regardless of whether you have a current vacant position.”

Ms Homewood said that MAX Employment’s motto was ‘finding jobs, changing lives” and while the primary goal of the campaign was to help more people find employment, MAX Employment would also make a charity donation to help even more low-income families.

In 2011, MAX Employment Christmas jobs campaign secured over 10,000 new jobs and MAX Employment also donated $100,000 to The Smith Family further assisting Australian families experiencing hardship.

“So if you are an employer, register online – www.maxjobs.com.au – or call us today – freecall 1800 625 350. Together we can make a huge impact, giving people the greatest gift for Christmas.”

Media Releases were also issued for WA, NSW, VIC and TAS. Please contact us to request a copy.

Community transport and care organisation, ComLink, will celebrate its 25th anniversary and thank its more than 120 volunteers at a Race Day this Sunday.

Suncoast Transport and Care Association (STAC) trading as ComLink, certainly has a lot to celebrate at the Race Day, which will also be the 10th annual event.

ComLink Chief Executive Feda Adra said the not-for profit organisation and charity provided community transport and care for the frail aged and younger people with a disability to attend medical appointments, shop and maintain their social inclusion from North Brisbane, throughout the Sunshine Coast and north to Bundaberg.

“We have clients with very diverse needs and it is our policy to work with a variety of community organisations to find a solution that works. We never turn anyone away,” Ms Adra said.

She said in 2012 they had already provided 115,000 transport trips for clients, while they received government funding for only 52,000.

“These are services we just wouldn’t be able to provide without our volunteers, which is why it is so important for us to recognise them through our annual race day,” she said.

Ms Adra said at the race day they would be showcasing the organisations achievements over the past 25 years and also recognising volunteers for long service, with 5 year and 10 year certificates to be awarded by ComLink’s new patron Joan Sheldon.

There will also be three 25-year service awards for Jean Huges, Val Allen and Trudi Birks who represent the range of different volunteering roles withing ComLink.

Life members Jean and Val are on ComLink’s board, while Trudi volunteers at Kawana Companions, selling raffles, assisting clients and supporting them socially.

“We also have a very special year service award which will be presented to our treasurer John Muir.

“John, who is an accountant, has been with the organisation for more than 12 years and has been a valuable business advisor, developing all the organisations financial systems and taking on more as ComLink grew.”

John, who still works three mornings a week, said he first took on the role after his wife ‘dobbed’ him in when it looked like the organisation would be unable to get a treasurer.

“It is very rewarding work and the people in the organisation are great,” he said.