Archive for December 5th, 2006

Maroondah HomeBiz Christmas ‘Office Party’

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 5th of December, 2006

Maroondah HomeBiz’s Christmas ‘Office Party’ provides home based businesses with the opportunity to enjoy a Christmas function amongst other home based business owners.

Tonight’s HomeBizz Christmas function held at the All Smiles Cafe located at the Ringwood Golf Course continued Maroondah HomeBiz’s tradition of providing a friendly and supportive environment for home-based businesses.

Just as it did in 2006, Maroondah HomeBiz is certain to attract interesting and diverse speakers to provide support and advice for home based businesses. With unique advantages in flexibility, work and lifestyle home based businesses are increasing in numbers and anyone considering a home based business should definitely look at participating in Maroondah HomeBiz.

For further information on Maroondah HomeBiz visit www.homebiz.org.au.

Maroondah Mobility Expo demonstrates community interest in accessibility

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 5th of December, 2006

Maroondah’s Mobility Expo, as part of the International Day for People with Disabilities attracted over 300 attendees demonstrating that the community has an overwhelming interest in mobility issues.

The Expo provided a full day program that included:

• Free scooter and wheelchair safety checks;
• Trials of a low-floor bus;
• Information sessions on topics such as:

• Accessing public transport safely;

• Road rules for motorised scooters and pedestrians;

• Advice from occupational therapists;

• Scooter etiquette to ensure safe usage of motorised scooters and wheelchairs;

A number of vendors were also available allowing participants to try various motorised scooters and accessibility aids.Maroondah’s Mobility Expo succeeded in its aim in promoting equity and assisting people with mobility aids to participate in society with confidence.

The Mobility Expo was made possible due to the work of Maroondah’s MetroAccess worker, Katie Goodrope, Trisha Matthes who was assisting Katie, and the Scoot Wheel ‘N’ Move working group, which consisted of community volunteers dedicated to raising awareness and improving accessibility within Maroondah.

In addition, the booklet Maintaining Your Mobility in Maroondah was launched the Expo. This booklet which provides advice on using mobility aids such as scooters and wheelchairs, was created by the Scoot Wheel ‘N’ Move working and reflects the first hand experiences of members within the group. The booklet was launched by Angela Fitzpatrick, a long time community volunteer, who was awarded a Deakin Community Australia Day Award in 2006.

On behalf of the Scoot Wheel ‘N’ Move working group I was invited to officially launch the Expo and MC the proceedings.

My opening speech was as follows:

(Read more…)