Salvos step up to the plate in Red Cliffs
Salvos step up to the plate in Red Cliffs
6 October 2022
Amaya Serojales, 10, helps at the community meal drop-in. Photo: Ben Gross
The Red Cliffs community near Mildura can now socialise and connect over a free meal as part of a new weekly initiative being rolled out by Sunraysia Corps in Victoria’s north.
Around 50 community members attended the corps’ first community meal and drop-in event held last month. Residents were treated to a barbeque with salad, and there were fun and interactive activities for attendees to participate in.
Community meal drop-in volunteers Mark McKee and John Burfitt, of Sunraysia Corps, on barbeque duty. Photo: Ben Gross
Corps Officer Major Debbie Serojales said the aim of the weekly event was to provide a location for the community to socialise and connect.
“There are games for kids, there is a place for people if they just want to relax and read the newspaper, but also then to share over a meal together,” she said. “We really want to just provide a space for members of the community to just come and meet new people, and perhaps then connect back into some of our other programs at the corps.”
Debbie said the event was made possible thanks to funds from the Red Shield Appeal and the corps Thrift Shop.
“It was great to have some families come in but also some seasonal workers from Vanuatu who took up the opportunity to come,” she said “We just loved being able to share with them. After a busy day of working, they were able to come in, relax and have a meal which was great. It was very busy but a fun night.
“We put on a variety of meals – the first one was a barbeque, but we also do many other dishes, many of them involving rice because of the many seasonal workers who come along.
“And we have some wonderful volunteers that assist us through The Salvation Army, but also the Red Cliffs Church of Christ – they have a team that comes and helps us on a roster basis. And through the Red Cliffs Community Resource Centre – some people from there pop along sometimes too.
“We are thankful for their support to be able to help us with it. In the end, it’s all about connection and relationship for everyone involved.”
The event runs from 4.30pm to 6pm each Wednesday with food being served after 5pm. All members of the community are invited to attend.
This is an edited version of an article that appeared in the Sunraysia Daily on 17 September 2022, by Sarah Buchecker
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