Helen’s Story
Helen has been part of Involve for a long time – both as a participant and a dedicated volunteer with CRCS. Years ago, while enjoying a coffee at the Social Bean Café, she noticed that the space could use some more life. After chatting with the manager, her volunteer journey began, as she started creating beautiful flower arrangements at the Belconnen Community Centre – a project she continues today. Although it’s not an easy task, as she arrives early to ensure everything is ready for the day, Helen is committed and appreciates the positive feedback from her peers and CRCS employees. “Plants don’t always do what you would like them to,” Helen says, remembering a time when a snail visited and ate one of her beautiful blooms. Despite these little challenges, she always does her best.
Helen was first introduced to the Involve program by a friend during a difficult time in her life, and found that Involve offered her connection and a chance to build new friendships. Involve filled a gap and broadened her outlook and interests. Activities like the “Walkie Talkies” group left her feeling brighter and with a different attitude.
“It’s been an absolute blessing for me to discover it [Involve].”
Helen feels that through Involve she has grown as a person, stepping outside her usual circle to learn about the diverse cultures and perspectives in her community. Now, she finds herself starting up conversations with people experiencing homelessness, curious about their story, and talking to them without judgement.
For Helen, Involve is all about connection and belonging, and she even organises meetups outside of Involve to keep the friendships going.
“Involve means enjoyment and life. It’s like belonging to a bigger family and we all care and share our happy times or our sad times.”
Recent News Stories
After an extraordinary 32 years of service, we say a heartfelt goodbye to Graham McKercher, who recently resigned from CRCS to take some time out, enjoy being a grandad, and undertake some international travel.
CRCS recently welcomed our Living Well participants, other community members, sector professionals, and family members and carers to our first Speaker Series session of the year: Unpacking the Changes to My Aged Care – What You Need to Know at the Belconnen Community Centre theatre.
To celebrate Mother’s Day, Budawang Early Learning Centre in Milton hosted an afternoon tea for mums, carers and grandmothers. Children invited their families into the centre to take part in a range of activities. These included bracelet beading, gluing, drawing, nail painting, and pretend hairdressing. A playdough station invited children to create face moulds with the sign “Can you mould your mum?”, and a photo booth was set up to capture the occasion.
Following on from the signage placed around the Belconnen Community Centre and notices distributed to participants, we are sharing this update to confirm that the Swanson Court carpark has now permanently closed as of Tuesday 2 April 2025, due to a new development at the site by JWLand.
Young people in Belconnen now have easier access to free, confidential health and wellbeing support with the arrival of the T25 Clinic at Belconnen Youth Centre. Every Thursday from 2pm to 5pm the T25 Clinic van, Mini Pat, will be on-site offering a safe and welcoming space for young people aged 12 to 25. There’s no need for an appointment – just drop in when you need support.