There is nothing new in the fact that community organisations sometimes have trouble attracting new members.
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One group that is bucking this trend is the Guyra branch of the CWA. They have benefitted from a surge in membership over the last 12 months which started with one person deciding to join.
Then began the ‘snowball effect’ – as each person joined a few others followed.
And those new members are young, enthusiastic and have a new way of doing things.
All up they now have around a dozen new members with the youngest recruit just 22 years old.
New recruit Anne Starr is no stranger to the CWA movement. Mum Heather is a long time member who has served on the executive in a number of capacities at both branch and group level.
“We have all felt extremely welcomed,” Anne said. “We all lead busy lives and the branch has adapted their meeting times to suit us with a Saturday meeting every second month.”
As with all groups, new members bring new ideas and new ways of doing things.
They are currently planning a “Ladies Night” which is set down for Saturday October 18 at the Community Hall.
Anne said that this is new concept that hasn’t happened in Guyra for a while and promises to be a lot of fun as well as addressing serious issues.
The focus will be on mental health with guest speakers sharing stories and experiences of what to do when dealing with family members and friends who are facing difficulties.
“We thought this would be something different – there’s not many opportunities for just the girls to get together,” she said.
“There has already been a great response from businesses wanted to be involved and it will be a huge night.”
A number of market stalls will be set up on the night and there will be fashion parades and live demonstrations as well as some well-known guest speakers.
There will be ‘pamper sessions’ throughout the night, where guests will have to chance to be pampered by one of the stall holders with a manicure, hair style, make up lesson and lots more!
A silent auction will also run with lots of fantastic items up for grabs.
The night is being held with the support of Australian Government Drought Assistance funding and the Ascent Group.
It will be a FREE event for the ladies of Guyra, finger food provided - all you need to do is BYO drinks.
Any questions can be directed to Anne Starr 0413 595 353 or Jess Watters 0400 160 186.
