General News
15 September, 2022
Networking night to help connect residents
A social night to connect new community members is headed to the Supreme Court Bar and Restaurant next week, providing an opportunity for residents to get to know each other and find ways to connect with groups and volunteer organisations. The event...
A social night to connect new community members is headed to the Supreme Court Bar and Restaurant next week, providing an opportunity for residents to get to know each other and find ways to connect with groups and volunteer organisations.
The event has been organised by resident Teresa Holmes, who’s move to Maryborough three years ago inspired the networking night.
“Getting together with friends, a common topic that kept coming up was how do you find out about things in Maryborough when you’re new, how do you meet people and make friends — especially if you’re not at that stage of life where you’re meeting other parents at the school gate or involved in sports,” she said.
“We decided to do something about it and host this networking night. Craig Lovett at the Supreme has gotten onboard and is kindly allowing us to host it for free.
“Anybody of any age is welcome. You don’t have to be new to town either.”
Ms Holmes said a number of local groups will be speaking on the night about the benefits of volunteering, which can be an instant network for new residents, and will also be collecting ideas from event-goers.
“This is something we may end up doing regularly, but the point of this first night is to be a forum to find out what people want,” she said.
“We’d like people to come along and tell us whether a night like this a few times a year would work, we welcome any suggestions.
“We also want organisations who need volunteers to come along and let people know how they can join in and have an immediate network.”
Central Goldfields Shire councillor Anna De Villiers has jumped onboard with the night and said being able to connect residents with each other and volunteer groups is needed after the pandemic.
“There’s a real value to this, it’s a fantastic idea,” she said.
“I have found our older people can be lonely, but even young people without families, some of them are floating. If you’re not involved in sport, they’re really lost and there’s no where for them to go. In the past we had churches, that was a vital link, but that’s dropped away.
“We have a more formal structure for volunteers through Tony Macer and the Maryborough Volunteer Resource Centre, but their role is more linking volunteer groups and organisations with volunteers, whereas this networking night is a more informal way for people to meet and share ideas.
“Volunteering is all about socialising and connecting, and what’s happened with COVID is everyone went to ground, so we’ve lost a lot of volunteers and connections.”
Cr De Villiers said the networking night is also timely given council’s recently announced Welcome to Central Goldfields pilot project, designed to bring skilled migrants into the community to fill job vacancies, and who will be looking to connect with the community.
The project will also be filmed for a documentary and allow council to advocate at all levels of government on workforce and housing needs — and ultimately find ways to support relocation to the shire.
The networking night will be held at the Supreme Court Bar and Restaurant (1 Havelock Street, Maryborough) next Thursday, September 22 from 7 pm.
For more information, search for Networking Maryborough on Facebook.