Calendar What’s on
Calendar What’s on October — December 2017 OCTOBER 4-11 October National Amputee Awareness Week 6 October World Smile Day 8-14 October Mental Health Week NOVEMBER 7 November Melbourne Cup 14 November World Diabetes Day 24 November Independence Australia Daddo Charity Golf Day www.golfdays.com.au/iadaddo DECEMBER 1 December World AIDS Day 3 December International Day of People with Disability 4 Independence Australia
Time Out Camp Taking some Time Out at Cooriemungle Earlier in the year, the Prader- Willi Syndrome Association of Australia enjoyed a camp trip in southern Victoria, with some help from Independence Australia. Our fifth annual ‘Time Out’ camp was held at Camp Cooriemungle near the Great Ocean Road. Although our location promised beautiful coastal weather, Mother Nature had other plans, and provided us with spectacular storms over the weekend. We had 50 members join us this year, with two volunteers and two carers provided by Independence Australia. On Saturday, the groups rotated through the activities, which included the giant swing, flying fox and low ropes course. A “Go Orange for Prader-Willi Syndrome” disco was held on Saturday night, with the younger children singing songs with face masks made during the day. There was lots of music, dancing and fun. Our second day was mostly inside due to the weather. Our ‘Plan B’ included bingo, arts and crafts, and card games. Despite a long day, inside the kids were amazing. Everybody got along so well, and it really demonstrated the reason we hold these camps. The downtime was relaxing and it was wonderful to be able to chat, make new friendships and strengthen existing ones. We were particularly proud of the children when we couldn’t show the scheduled Sunday night movie due to a power outage. Instead, we settled in for a singalong before trying to find our beds in the dark. On Monday morning the camp staff managed to fit in a few more rounds of activities before saying goodbye for another year. To find out more about the camp and recreation services we offer, email services@iagroup.org.au Inform – Spring 2017 5
