Fortnightly News 10/7/2015
Some Facts About Woden Seniors In 2015
- Membership of the Club at 30 June 2015 was 645. This was the highest figure for the past 5 years but well below the peak years of 2007 to 2010.
- The median age of members is 73 years and one quarter are 80 years or older.
- Almost three quarters of the membership is female.
- As expected, given the location of the Club, most members (85%) live in south Canberra suburbs.
- 70% of the membership now chooses to receive communications from the Club via email (e.g. the Fortnightly News Update, membership renewal notices). The proportion is increasing each year.
- There are now 576 vehicles covered by parking permits, so please don’t all visit the Club at the same time!
- Usage of the Club’s website (www.wodenseniors.org.au) continues to increase as it becomes more widely known. In the past 12 months there have been 7,400 separate visits to the website involving 20,000 page views. 70% of visits were from people in Australia (55% from Canberra) and 30% from overseas. About 40% went direct to the website, 40% found it via a search engine such as Google, and 20% were referred to the site by other sources/links. 20% of all visits were made using mobile phones or tablets.
Need A Doctor That Comes To You At Night Or On Weekends?
The NATIONAL HOME DOCTOR SERVICE is a network of qualified doctors that provides bulk-billed after hours medical care to patients in their homes and in aged care facilities. Australia’s largest network of home visiting doctors. From 4pm weekdays, 10am Saturdays, all day Sunday and public holidays. Call 137425.
Social Ball Room Dancing
The Club has received an ACT Government grant to help develop a cohort of people that are interested in learning to dance and/or teach and participate in a regular social dance activity within the Club. The grant will be used to fund the services of a professional dance instructor to both teach specific dances and to train people within the cohort how to teach those basic dance steps. The dances may comprise Slow Movement, Rhumba, Cha Cha, rock and roll or Jive and Waltz. It is envisaged that this instructional activity will run on Monday afternoons from 2pm – 4pm beginning in mid-July through to November 2015. It would then be up to the group to take the activity forward.
We are particularly looking for couples that have some dance experience to help lead this group. If you are interested in participating please let Polly know.
A WOW Exhibition
The “Watercolour on Wednesday” Art Group (W O W) that meets at Woden Seniors every Wednesday morning, will hold an exhibition of work in the Gallery at the Hellenic Club, Woden from 28 June until 31 July. All paintings will be for sale and 10% commission on sales will be donated to a local charity.
2nd BIG BOOK FAIR – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
The Second BIG Book Fair will be held on Friday 7 August from 11 am to 6 pm, Saturday 8 August from 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday 9 August from 10 am to 4 pm.
With just 4 weeks to go, we are drawing up a roster of helpers for a variety of tasks before and during the big event. Please let Polly know if you can help.
We plan to work on 3 shifts per day … morning, noon and afternoon … shifts of about 2-3 hours each. Tasks include:- front desk - sales desk - patrolling and restocking tables - and most importantly, the tea/coffee stall. We are also having a cake stall so all your baking contributions will be much appreciated.
We want to encourage as many people as possible to come to the Book Fair and we have already started to publicise it through major media outlets and on Woden Seniors website www.wodenseniors.org.au. In the next few weeks we will be making a concerted effort to get the message out to a wide range of media outlets.
As a member of Woden Seniors you can help to get the message out at a more local level by:
· Asking your friends and family to put the dates of the Second BIG Book Fair in their calendars
· Posting the dates and times of the Second BIG Book Fair on your Facebook page. You can post it as a public event.
· Asking local organisations in which you are involved e.g. Church, schools, Bowling Club, Golf Club etc. to put the details of the Second BIG Book Fair in their newsletters.
Weston Creek Toastmaster’s,
Are you a confident Speaker in Public?
We need you!
Would you like to be a confident Public Speaker?
Then you need us!
Come and be our guest at our Weston Creek Toastmasters’ Club, held at the Hellenic Club on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month, at 7.30p.m. to 9.30p.m.
You may be captivated by the inspiring stories told and be encouraged by the uplifting comments made by the members and guests.
Come join us for an entertaining and humorous evening. Too shy? Bring along a friend. You will be most welcome.
Contact Lutana McLeod (VPM) – (also a member of the Woden Seniors’ Club) – on 6281 2494.
myGov Website
myGov is a fast and simple way to access federal Government services online, including Centrelink, Medicare, your eHealth record and the Australian Taxation Office.
If you are finding it difficult to set-up your myGov account, one of our members reports that the helpdesk on 132 307 select option 1 is very helpful and will talk you through the process.
U3A Needs More Presenters To Meet Demand For Courses
The ACT’s University of the Third Age has become so popular among retirees that it is seeking more people to deliver courses and activities.
U3A ACT, an entirely voluntary organisation, has more than 4000 members and runs well over 200 courses and activities each year in Canberra, Queanbeyan and Yass. It is part of a worldwide movement that delivers educational and cultural activities mainly to retired people.
John Warhurst, chair of U3A’s Program Development Working Group and a course presenter, says more people are needed with professional or other skills and interests to help meet the growing demand for more learning activities.
“This can cover just about any subject or topic under the sun,” John said. “Right now, the most pressure is for more courses on current affairs and languages.
“Anyone who would like to share their professional or other interests with responsive people keen to learn can find this a very rewarding experience.”
John said an information session for potential new presenters will be held at U3A’s headquarters at Hughes Community Centre at 2pm on Tuesday 14 July.
To register for the session and find out more, contact Linda Tregonning on 0407 917 133 or email:
communications@u3acanberra.org.au
John, who presents a popular course on sporting history, said the scope for new activities is very wide. “As well as current affairs and languages, our range includes literature, philosophy, computing, history, science, technology, art and many musical activities, such as orchestras and choirs.
“You don’t have to be a teacher or experienced lecturer. We help guide new teachers so that they can deploy their talents effectively in a rewarding and enjoyable environment.”
University of the 3rd Age/COTA Forums on Again
Each year the University of the 3rd Age and COTA (ACT) collaborate in organising a popular program of forums for older Canberrans, running from June to October. This year’s forums are on topics as diverse as mature-aged employment, climate change, the Iraq war and enjoyable ageing. Come along and hear from our expert, funny, engaging and thought-provoking speakers. You can find a link to the Program here.
MoneySmart
The MoneySmart website provides information to help people make smart choices about their personal finances. It is created and run by ASIC (the financial services regulator, an independent agency of the Australian Government). More information
Energy Made Easy
Energy Made Easy is a government website run by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) which helps you compare energy offers in your area and understand and compare your energy usage. More details
Safety And Fraud Awareness
Beware of scam emails promising ATO refunds: Alert High Priority
Australians are reminded to be wary of scam emails that use the Australian Government and Australian Taxation Office logos to mislead the email recipient into thinking they are receiving a tax refund.
Clues that identify emails as scams include an incorrect sender address, poor grammar, inappropriate requests, a failure to address the recipient by name and the promise of money.
The ATO states that any message requesting more information before a refund can be released, is a hoax. If you receive a tax related scam message forward it to
and then delete it immediately from your system. For more information please visit Stay Smart Online: http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/your_identity/avoiding_scams_and_hoaxes
Justice of the Peace
You will find Maureen in the Anne Murray room on Tuesdays between 10.30am and 2pm for Justice of the Peace matters.