Mitchat

Whitehorse Friends for Reconciliation

LETTER FROM WHITEHORSE FRIENDS FOR RECONCILIATION

Dear Friends of Whitehorse Friends for Reconciliation (WFFR), Attendees at WFFR Events, and Others,

 

The WFFR, like many community groups with committed members who have served over several decades, has reached a time when it cannot continue without an injection of new people.

 

This email is to ask recipients to consider becoming members of WFFR.

This would entail:

As a minimum commitment:

  • payment of a subscription ($20 or $10 concession)
  • preparedness to attend most meetings – currently monthly
  • preparedness to assist on WFFR stalls

As more involved commitment:

  • people to continue the administration of the group – organising meeting arrangements with North Blackburn Neighbourhood House (this is a simple ongoing arrangement), collection of subscriptions, management of Bendigo Bank account and payment of bills; payment of Incorporation fees and submission of a Yearly financial statement, yearly payment for a Post Office Box, submissions for Council grants if required for planned projects, application to have a stall at the Whitehorse Spring Festival, and any other project considered useful in creating a stronger, more creative relationship between First Nations people and non-Aboriginal Australians.  

The WFFR has a proud history of carrying out projects within Whitehorse over the last 25 years. It is not possible to list them all but among the highlights were – a weekend Forum in 2003 called ‘Whitehorse Deliberates on Indigenous Issues; a project in which Whitehorse students made pavers with Aboriginal motifs, under the guidance of Aboriginal artists, for the Nangnak garden; the Long Walk in Whitehorse; the production of the DVD ‘Nobody’s Child’ highlighting the experiences of 5 stolen generation First Nations people, who had spent time in Government institutions in Whitehorse; a tennis exhibition with young Aboriginal players mentored by Eyvonne Goolagong-Cawley, who attended; many student days, cultural days, picnics at Blackburn Lake, film nights; the creation of the very unique ‘Reconciliation Message Stick’, an example of two cultures walking together; and a Forum at the Box Hill Town hall last September in which the premise, ‘the world is in trouble and let’s look at some ideas from Aboriginal culture to help put our heads in a better place for contemplating the future’, was discussed.

 

And there were many smaller activities in between these, more major, projects.

We encourage you to consider our offer.

 

To help you decide, we invite you to join us at a normal meeting, but where the main objective will be to provide a wider picture of reconciliation and to answer any questions you may have.

 

Meetings details:

7.30pm Thursday 8 May at Blackburn Neighbourhood House, 109 Koonung Rd, Blackburn North.

 

We look forward to seeing you there.

 

Virginia Burns, 

Convenor

WFFR