Community Centre Update January 2023

CIRS volunteers have taken a well-earned break over the Christmas – New Year period with our office re-opening on Monday 9 January.

Our Big Weekend of Fun in December went off in spectacular style, starting with our biggest monthly markets yet. With over fifty stalls, there was something to interest everyone.

We thanked our stallholders with a free sausage sizzle and drink from the CIRS Barbie Boys to say thank you for supporting Rainbow Beach markets.

Markets are held the second Saturday of every month on the centre block in Rainbow Beach Road (the big green space beside the hall). Summer markets starting time is 7am and goes to 12 noon.

Thanks to our market volunteers Tyla, Penny, Ze, Rita, Ange, Chris and Maree, and Val who sells the books.

If you would like more information or to book a stall, please call 0457 908 905.

The Barbie Boys also cooked up a storm for Santa Comes to Rainbow and sold more delicious snags from Rainbow Beach Butcher than ever before.

They have done an awesome job all year, cooking at our markets and other events, but on that big weekend they surpassed themselves. Thanks, fellas.

And big thanks to Therese Young for slicing so many kilos of onions! If anyone wants to be part of the Barbie Boys team, just drop into our office, email rainbowbeachcommunitycentre@gmail.com or call us on 5486 3355.

Coming up

CIRS has a couple of programs this year on cost of living issues – household energy literacy and tenancy rights.

Energy workshop topics will include shopping around for a better energy deal, energy efficiency tips, government concessions, and retailer hardship programs.

A tenancy workshop will be presented by QSTARS in February – date to be confirmed. There have been a few changes to the QLD Residential Tenancy Act so update your knowledge of tenancy rights and responsibilities.

If you are interested in these sessions, please leave your name at the CIRS office or email cirssecretary@gmail.com. If we are successful in our Volunteer Grants application, we will also be running some free courses for volunteers in April. More information in February.

We have applied for funding for a laser projector, film screening rights for ten films, and a popcorn machine, so that we can run monthly film nights.

If we are successful, we will invite ten community organisations to nominate for the month they want to run a film night in the hall and use this opportunity to promote their group and fundraise.

If we get the grant, the film night program will start in June-July, so watch this space. We are also applying for a large projector screen through another grant.

If you would like to be involved in the coordination of these film nights, please contact Fiona 0423 344 316. Many thanks to Peter Hall for his research and advice on projectors, screens, and lighting and sound aspects.

Volunteer opportunities

We have a lot planned for 2023 so if you are interested in getting involved in the Rainbow Beach community, you can always find something interesting and worthwhile to do at the community centre.

We always need office volunteers, no matter how many hours you can give. Office duties include scanning and photocopying, taking phone enquiries about hall hire and market stalls, taking bookings, selling books, general administration tasks.

Training is provided and don’t worry, you won’t be left on your own until you are confident.

Best wishes and a BIG THANK YOU to Jeff Pamenter. We’ve been lucky enough to have Jeff taking good care of the centre cleaning for the last six months, but sadly he’s leaving at the end of the month.

If you are interested in doing any aspect of cleaning for us – doing the glass doors, tidying the kitchen, restocking the paper towels, cleaning toilets, leaf blowing, vacuuming the office or mopping the timber floor, please contact us.

We welcome Jobseekers looking for worthwhile volunteer roles to do their required hours per fortnight. We have regular volunteer roles such as market set-up and pack-up, general hall maintenance, event volunteers, raffle ticket sellers, photographers for social media and newspaper articles, and cleaners.

We are very flexible so whatever time you have to offer, we can find a role to suit your needs. Please call our office on 5486 3355 or email rainbowbeachcommunitycentre@gmail.com for more information.

Fiona Hawthorne, Secretary 

Rainbow Beach Community Information and Resource Centre (CIRS)