February - WHAT A MONTH ! 

The amount of new families who I have meet has been AMAZING - through welcome events, ours, individual units and the recent DMFS event at Aussie world and then we have the amazing women who have made the brave choice to come out to an event either onsite or offsite. 

Our annual Welcome to Brisbane Adults only event (a favourite of mine right alongside the end of year adults only xmas party) saw 30 amazing women put on the heals and find a fabulous outfit and head out to meet other partners - and what an amazing afternoon of laughter it was. 

The first term is always a whirl of new families and events and we find ourselves talking school holidays before we know it - this year a grumpy old man who shed a few tears over Brisbane (AKA Alfred) gave me a pause in programming to get ahead of the game for Easter the holiday events - I am very excited for all the things I have in the planning stages ! Its going to be an EPIC holiday program.

Thank you to everyone who has supported our events and come and said HI at Welcome events - it makes me very excited for the year we are heading into. 

​February has been a bustling month at GBCC, and we couldn't be more excited about the energy and excitement that's been building. Our Open Day event was a huge success, and we loved watching new families come join the fun. It has truly warmed our hearts to see new friendships blossom, both among parents and children. Behind the scenes, the committee has been hard at work alongside Vonnie to ensure that this year will be the best GBCC has ever seen. We can’t wait to continue this journey with all of you!

Its time - to SLOWLY ease back into all things GBCC after a lovely rest with my family and LOTS of adventures we are getting ready to kick off 2025.

2024 was another amazing year, we ventured to new places, made lots of new friends along the way and hosted some pretty amazing events in the closing weeks - so awesome that myself and the team collapsed in a heap as we shut the doors on the centre just before Christmas - so our photo gallery in this newsletter will be loaded with all the adventures of December !

I am excited for the new families we will welcome as well as finding out what our returning families have been up to since I last saw you all.

Term 1 is always a blur, with back to school, public holidays, welcoming new families, welcome events (keep your eye out for our save the date)  and all of a sudden we are looking at school holiday programs, lots of new venues have popped up around Brisbane so being a financial member has never been more important.

​I am super excited to get the year started and cant wait to see everyone. 

New year, new Posting Location??
This time of the year is very exciting for the team at GBCC! Not only do we get to try out new ideas, we also get to welcome a whole new bunch of Defence families posting in to our wonderful location. We make it our mission to ensure that as many families as possible know about our centre, the sessions that we run, the services we offer and the opportunity we provide to make connections in your community. 
You might be thinking:

• "I've been to other community centres and it wasn't my vibe"
• "Showing up at a new place is a bit daunting"
• "I don't have children, there won't be anything for me there"
• "It couldn't possible be as good as my last Defence Community Centre...."

These are all completely valid, but we promise it will be worth the effort of giving us a go! Defence life is hard and a great support network can make all the difference, and that is exactly what we are offering. A friendly, welcoming environment, activities to keep yourself busy, a wealth of knowledge and information, and other people who "just get it". 
A great way to find out all about our community centre and what is on offer to you.... is to come to our Open Day! (See the event information below)

As we race towards the end of this year, Team GBCC is already scoping and planning for busy 2025! There are new and fun ideas for member merchandise (sneak peak to the left), new centre facilities for our members to enjoy, and a jam-packed schedule of programs and activities. Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of our Community Centre Open Day, which always starts our year off with a bang!
We know that this end-of-year period puts pressure on the family calendar, and the family budget. If you find yourself short of some of the necessities, the GBCC Community Pantry is re-stocked and ready for the holiday season. We times are tough, this community has your back! 
If you are relocating and looking to offload pantry items, we will gratefully accept in-date and unopened​ items to add to our selection. 
We look forward to seeing everyone at our end of year events! 

Each month I have been telling myself it will slow down after this, and once we get past that I will get a bit of a breather. Yet somehow 2024 has been the year that won't slow down! We have so many exciting things coming between now and the end of the year that I have washed my coordinator cape and strapped in tight to enjoy the ride to the end of an epic year.

Stay tuned for our Holiday adventures as we wrap Term 3 and get ready for Term 4 which always feels like its only 4 weeks long.

Why join Team GBCC?
With AGM just around the corner I thought I would share why it is important from my perspective.
I often speak of how I do not work alone - and the importance of having a team who work tirelessly behind the scenes to support the community you all have come to love. 
We can often be complacent in our approach for new members as we make it look "easy" and communicate the same - BUT is it easy? For the right person YES - if you take the time to understand all that is required to run a Not-For-Profit community centre like ours, then the actual work involved is easy once the knowledge and understanding is there.
Over my 8 years in the role the hard yards have absolutely been done to bring our community to a fantastic standard. We have the centre ticking over nicely and we are  completing all required tasks in the correct time frame. BUT this is why we (where possible) always try to ensure we never have a FULL committee as we changeover. This allows knowledge to stay and teach the next dream team all the tips and tricks to make our community AWESOME. 
I have some nominations, and I am super excited to go into our next year under a strong committee. I am also looking to raise our volunteer pool again! This will allow those who can't commit to an executive role to give a little back to the community when required. I will touch briefly on it at AGM, so please consider joining the volunteer pool if you have a little love to give to keep our community the one that everyone is sad to leave behind. 

What is an Annual General Meeting?
​​AGMs are our yearly opportunity to bring together our executive committee, our members and our community to reflect on what we have achieved. The committee presents financial reports, and the president and coordinator give an overview of the year that was, highlighting our greatest successes and biggest learning moments. This also performs an important Governance function, as we make some crucial decisions about how we will operate for the next financial year. 
At the AGM we are required to form a new committee for the upcoming year. All of the committee positions are declared vacant and those who have nominated themselves are considered and voted in. This is always an exciting time as fresh faces and fresh ideas are always welcome!
If you are available on Monday 9th September from 12:00pm, we would love to see you join in on our AGM. There is lunch provided for those who can attend in person, and zoom detail available for those who want to dial in. 

2024 - Part 2 LETS GO!

What a way to wrap up the first half of 2024, a school holiday program that saw me from one end of town to the other ! And an event like no other in our Inaugural Green Teen event.

With the change over to the new financial year we are all systems go on our planning and programs. 

Term 3 will see the return of Craft session, while we build this program back up it will be a fortnightly program each Tuesday in centre and we will run it as a BYO project, come and chat with others, while the children play.

As I work out all the talents we have hidden in our community I will look to introduce a "demo" day every few sessions - the centre has a cupboard full of crafting treasures (such as sewing machines, overlockers and diamond art) and of course we have that magic little machine that makes plain shirts FABULOUS - the Cricut. I know a few of our members have recently joined this cult so you can pop in on a Tuesday for a cuppa and make use of the tools and accessories we have ! 

I am excited to get Term 3 underway - right after I take a nap ! 

See you all in Term 3 xx

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How do I come up with these things ?

I have previously shared with you all WHY I do what I do so this month I will share with you how I come up with our school holiday programs and events. 

First and foremost its YOU and knowing your little people and their interests, I want to include as many as I can in our adventures. 

Secondly, I am a mum with ages ranging from 15 down to 8 so I think, what is cool and fun right now - this helps me with the slightly older age group - it was my own teenagers desperate want to try the over pool obstacle course that saw us at Team GBCC start to ask the questions on how we could make that work, and Green Teen became a reality - check out the photos from this amazing event below. 

And finally I draw inspiration from visiting places and wanting to share them with you - as well as hearing your weekend adventures and places you visit and love - sometimes I feel like I am asking LOTS of questions to you all, but ultimately I am using you all as my guide to the amazing locations across our beautiful city. 

With the school holidays coming to a close I am already in planning mode for our next ones as well as our Xmas adventures for our groups, little people, school aged and of course our Adults ONLY event. 

So be sure to share with me any hidden treasures that you find in your weekend adventures. 

Happy New Financial Year!
We are pleased to announce that GBCC has been successful in our applications for Family Support Funding and Coordinator Support Funding through the Department of Defence. These two funding grants, plus our own fundraising efforts, will ensure that we can continue to deliver the wide range of activities and events that our members have enjoyed in previous years. 
Each year we try to strike a balance between the "tried and true" activities that are always a success, and the new and innovative ideas that we think you will love. We know that the Defence family demographic in Brisbane changes slightly every year, and that the needs of our community are always evolving. As always, the feedback from our members and community partners is vital in making sure that we are meeting expectations. So if you have a great idea, please let us know!
As we wrap up the governance requirements for last financial year, and continue planning for this financial year, we have one eye on the future of our committee. GBCC's Annual General Meeting will be upon us sooner than we think and we will be vacating all positions on the committee. If you have ever thought of joining in the fun and supporting your community centre through volunteering on the committee, now is the time to suss it out! Keep an eye out as we start to advertise for new committee members, and you can speak to Vonnie or a committee member any time for more information about the roles.
Remember, without a committee working behind the scenes the community centre cannot deliver all the great activities and events that you love. 

Its all systems GO at Team GBCC HQ ! I am struggling to fathom that we are in JUNE ! Half the year has passed already, I will honestly need to start thinking about our Christmas plans in the next month or 2, so if you visit any amazing venues in the next few months that you think would work for kids or adults events be sure to share them with me. 

May was full of so many beautiful moments as we celebrated the amazing Women in our community a highlight was our High Tea event. It was so lovely to see so many faces both regulars and those we don't see often come together, and to enjoy good food and adult company and a little bit of childfree time. 

We had a fun visit from the band who saw us dancing our way into the week to some well-known tunes. We also uncovered some natural talent in one of our regular little people who took to the drums like he had always played them ! 

June and July are always busy for our community members as the posting orders start to trickle out and that brings with it both excitement and nerves as well as sadness as people start to prepare themselves to move on.  Community centres like ours exist across the country and we all work behind the scenes sharing ideas and supporting each other - so when that posting comes in be sure to come and see me and I can put you in contact with your next coordinator extraordinaire !

School Holidays are just around the corner (again) 

We have a never before seen activity for our Teens which is live and booking out fast which will occupy most of week 2 for Team GBCC.

I am putting the final touches on Week 1 with the theme being Lets go Adventuring, after the success of the last few holidays at venues outside our little Barracks bubble I am looking further NORTH and a little to the south side to bring together activities that we have never done before. So this holiday season we are testing new ideas to add them to our already amazing venues we have used.

At this stage I am hoping to have at least 3 offsite adventures - ranging from Morayfield to Ipswich in venues!! I have been in Brisbane for 8 years and these are places I have never adventured to, but I have heard GREAT reviews from those who have.

The holiday program and booking options will be in our Facebook group by the end of next week so make sure you are following our page. 

Our community network!
While some of the work we do at GBCC is visible, like our activities and programs, there is also a lot of work that remains 'behind-the-scenes' that our members don't see. One piece of that important, invisible work is the connections that we make and the networks we create in our community. There are several other organisations in our wider community that are doing fantastic things for Defence families, and offer a range of services or resources that we know will benefit our members. Our coordinator works hard to create and maintain relationships all throughout the Brisbane region and works with organisations, such as RSLs, Mates4Mates, different community services and many more, to help them to cater their programs for Defence families, inform their planning and facilitate their connection to our members. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements on where her latest community connections have led her lately!
GBCC also maintains a great relationship with the 7th Brigade Headquarters team and has spoken with Welfare Officers and Commanding Officers from the resident units on Gallipoli Barracks. Connections to the Brigade and the Units serves three main purposes; the opportunity to inform planning and policies that affect Defence families, support to the operations of the community centre, and new opportunities to provide activities and services for families. Some of our great ideas require the 'in-principle' and/or practical support from Defence, and with the Units and Brigade invested in our mission to support their families, we can achieve some very exciting things! The facilitation of a teen engagement activity in the upcoming school holidays, where teens will be able to engage in some very cool army-style activities, would certainly not have been possible without permission from Brigade and the willingness of the Physical Training Instructors at the Area Gym. We have even more great ideas in the pipeline that will rely on the support from the great community connections that GBCC has, so keep your eyes peeled!

April and May are always tricky months as they have school holidays and a run of public holidays that makes it feel a little bit like we stop and start - but we are almost into the part of the year with NO more public holidays until October.

Our school holiday program did not disappoint with new venues tried and tested and LOVED. 

As we move into May we celebrate all the amazing mothers in our community. We celebrate those who are Mothers, those who will become Mothers and  those who have mothers either near, far or watching over them - we celebrate the women who are the glue that keeps the Defence family ticking.

We have a few workshops and courses coming in the next month so make sure you are following the page to secure your spot!

Until next month xx 

Why do I do what I do ? Each month I cover off what has been amazing and what is coming up - this month I am going to share with you all a little about me - I am doing this because I have felt the LOVE from you all recently in appreciation for the efforts that are put into our events. 

Firstly I will point out I DO NOT work alone - I have an amazing team behind me every step of the way from the think tank to the delivery of an event. 

I grew up moving around a lot (not even Defence) this meant I easily transitioned to this lifestyle when I married a soldier as I was used to moving every few years and making new friends, I had my own family and continued to re invent myself in each posting I landed in. 

Each time I posted and with each additional child I realised the importance of having a community that not only understood your challenges but embraced you even on your tough days, as well as offering a safe place to connect in good and tough times. 

Landing in this role 8 years ago gave me the opportunity to bring everything that made me feel supported as I moved around over my lifetime to the Brisbane community. 

Each year I strive to bring more, be more, and make sure I can reach more people. Making sure my ideas are friendly on the family budget, accommodating in times of high tempo and welcoming to all those brave enough to step out and meet our amazing community. All the little additional things and special touches are normal in my house, my children are never surprised when the house is filled with "things" we need to get done for the centre - so as I currently sit here with my middle child working on little treats for our upcoming Mother's Day High Tea, he does it happily and I do it knowing that the reason I get to do what I do and call it work is because I have an amazing community who support and commit to all things Team GBCC. 

I consider myself one of the lucky ones who gets up every day excited to go to work and bring the magic and meet all the amazing families who call Brisbane home - however long that posting may keep them here, I secretly wish you could all stay forever.

Thanks for always making my job so amazing and easy xx

Where does the money come from? As a not-for-profit community centre, we run on a combination of *Grants* + *Fundraising* to deliver our range of programs, activities and facilities to our community. The job of the GBCC committee is to secure the income, plan the budget, track the spending, ensure reporting and compliance, all while giving our members the best possible value for their membership! Luckily we have a great team with a wide range of skills, passion and willingness to grow and learn. 
As a Defence community centre, we primarily access two grants that are administered by Defence to a range of community groups across the country. These grants are the "Family Support Funding Program (FSFP)"; for our programs and activities; and the "Community Support Coordination Program (CSCP)" to pay our wondeful, part time coordinator Vonnie. In order to secure these grants, there are a range of application, compliance and financial aspects to demonstrate that we can appropriately manage the money granted to us, and that we are providing a valuable service to the community. This is why we ask for so much feedback from you! :)
Our second source of income is through fundraising and membership fees, that allow us to supplement the grant funds and provide the resources and facilities for the centre. All of the money we raise through sausage sizzles, in-centre purchases like drinks and cookies, and membership fees is entirely re-invested into the centre. Last year, a new coffee machine and the (very cool) Nook play couch. This year, outdoor equipment to add to our resource hire pool. What matters most to us is that we continue to provide what our members find useful and valuable from their community centre.
​So, if you have an idea for an activity, an event, a resource or a facility that would enhance the experience for YOUR family.... we'd love to hear it! We have been able to put together some pretty awesome things based on what our members tell us they need, and we love a good challenge!

Each year we tell ourselves at Team GBCC that the first Term is the toughest, the busiest and feels like the longest - Term 1 has certainly been THAT !! 
We have been so busy out and about in the community and working behind the scenes with units and Brigade that before we knew it - EASTER had crept up! 
Over the years we have built such an amazing community with strong connections to our external stakeholders as well as setting the bar high for our programs and activities. This means that Term 1 has now become the pace setter for the rest of the year - we are already working on June/July Holidays and forecasting into our next funding period for July-December. 
There has never been a better time to be posted to Brisbane and part of our community.

WOW - that was quite the month!

We jammed so much into March it was CRAZY ! Including working out if you can eat an Oreo without using your hands! 

We continue to welcome and meet new families, this year has seen our memberships exceed previous years for the same period by a substantial amount which means our hard work getting our face out and about in the community is working. The annual DMFS welcome event is always one that brings both old and new faces to visit us at our stand, I left Lone Pine with my hug bucket FULL after seeing so many of our regular families all while sharing the amazing programs and activities we have on offer with families who had no idea we existed. 
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We kicked off our Youth Zone again and welcomed new and returning families to the program, a few of my little ones who flew the playgroup nest to start school this year transitioned to this program and with just one Term of school behind them it felt like they had aged 12 months into these super cool big kids who had such familiarity with the centre they eased straight into the program like they had always been a Youth Zoner. Youth Zone will continue as a regular program every 6-8 weeks for this year so stay tuned for the fun we have planned. 

The next few months are jammed packed, our annual Mothers Day High Tea (SOLD OUT but set the record for the quickest event to sell out EVER in my time at GBCC), First Aid course, a creativity workshop, youth zone and our regular programming with a few surprise visitors from units on base (stay tuned for our upcoming visit with music and fun at our Playgroup) all of this before we clock over another financial year in July - might even be able to squeeze in another adult event mid year so stay tuned.

RED HOT TIP from me - the calendar attached to our newsletter is regularly updated by me as I lock in events and visitors so be sure to keep this tagged as your favourites to stay as up to date as I am !! 

​Until next month - Vonnie xx

Throughout the year Team GBCC engages in a variety fundraising activities, both inside and outside of the centre. Your purchases such as family memberships, drinks and cookies, session fees, plus recycling our drink containers, all add up! We also have some large fundraising events such as the sausage sizzles that we provide for the Base Open Day and the Brigade Christmas Carols. The funds that we raise allow us to invest in the running of the community centre, as well as purchases of new items to meet the needs of our members. We have previously invested in a brand new, automatic coffee machine (which has been celebrated by our playgroup and Mums and Bubs attendees!), some large eskies to support our events, and a deep freezer to store BBQ supplies.
This year we would like to expand the range of items you can borrow from GBCC! We understand that purchasing, storing and transporting large items around the country can be overwhelming, especially if they are used infrequently! Or perhaps there are some things you'd like to "try before you buy", to make sure they are going to be value for money for your family. Team GBCC has come up with some suggestions, but we'd love to hear from our members about what they would be interested in or find useful to borrow (for free!) from our centre.

• Gardening tools like a battery-operated mower, snipper, blower and hedger- for those times when the usual 'outdoor-chore' person is away?
• Camping equipment like a tent, sleeping bags, cooking utensils- to trial the 'camping with kids' idea before fully investing?
• Sports and outdoor equipment like stand-up paddle boards and fishing- to use until the family outgrows them?
• Kitchen appliances like a food processor, stand mixer or icecream maker- for those times when your catering needs are larger than what your cabinets can store?
• Something else that we haven't thought of? We are always open to ideas!

Please us know your thoughts on the post in our Facebook group, or by filling out the survey below, so that we can be sure that we are meeting the needs of our community.