The latest news from Community Inclusion Services

Jan 23, 2021 | Newsletter

– CIS Christmas Party

Here at Community Inclusion Services (CIS) we ended 2020 with our Client Christmas party at Sailability, a local community based organisation in Bundaberg that enables people with disabilities regardless of age, gender or limitations to enjoy freedom on the water. Needless to say, it was a great day sailing and everyone had a huge amount of fun!

– New Roles for One of Our Own

Our YCONNECT Program – would like to introduce you to Scott Blemings. Scott will be our new acting LEAP Coordinator for our adult group services. . Scott has been working at the Y for a number of years. One of his main focuses will be to review the current program offerings to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of the people we support in our community, and to make the wider community aware of the existing programs and activities that we have to offer. Welcome aboard, Scott.

– School Holiday Program – Saturday Morning Respite

We would like to introduce Marie-Therese Stephen to all our families in her role coordinating our school holiday and Saturday morning respite programs. The recent holiday break saw us enjoying a number of outings for our School Holiday Program over the Christmas break. We visited Snakes Down Under at Childers, Sailability and the Bird Park to name a few. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed getting out and about in the region and seeing the joy on the faces of those who came along was just priceless. We look forward to resuming Saturday mornings and welcome new faces to any school aged children with disability who may wish to attend. For more contact Marie-Therese at leapkidsbundy@ymcabundaberg.org.au.

– Expanding our Reach

It is with great excitement that the YMCA of Bundaberg is announcing that we are expanding our services into the greater Brisbane area. YMCA of Bundaberg (BYMCA) have worked closely with YMCA Brisbane during 2020 and it was decided that BYMCA will now manage the two special school OSHC services in Brisbane with the intent to continue to provide this much-needed service to more families, caregivers and children.

YMCA LEAP Services specializes in providing Specialist OSHC (Outside School Hours Care) for young children and young adults with disabilities. We currently have two sites; Aspley Specialist School and Mitchelton Specialist School. We have experienced and fun disability support staff and a Specialist on-site Coordinator ensuring that children are learning, engaging, participating and growing during their time with YMCA.

Attached are recent pictures of children participating in our Vacation Care programs at Aspley and Mitchelton. Both sites enjoyed excursions to the YMCA Gymnastics Stafford where the children had a fantastic time on the obstacle course, the ball pit and much more.

YMCA LEAP Services also provides in-home support and community access support to both adults and children with NDIS plans. Our team is happy to assist with helping clients and families understand their NDIS plans more or to explore different types of supports. NDIS funding can be complex and families and clients need time to decipher how best to use their support.

Photos from our new Specialist OSHC centre at Aspley Specialist School: