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Article in this week’s Southern Courier.

If you have the Rabbitoh’s Aaron Gray and his mum Julie knocking on your door this weekend, don’t be surprised: Aaron is taking a break from training to score some points for the seniors in our community.

South Eastern Community Connect is a local community organisation that provides support for the elderly, families with young children, people from diverse cultural backgrounds and the socially disadvantaged in Sydney’s South East. This weekend marks the start of a doorknock to let the elderly in the local community know about the services that are available to them.

“SECC has been around for decades but there will always be people in the community who don’t know about the services. We want to make sure that those who need support know where to get it locally and affordably. My mum works for the organisation, and I am volunteering to help her spread the word to as many people as we can,” Aaron explains.
Services that have vacancies range from food deliveries support with shopping and daily tasks, transport and dementia programs to social outings.

“South Eastern Community Connect is a not-for-profit organisation, and our services are heavily subsidised by the government, which makes them affordable for many people who wouldn’t be able to seek help from a commercial provider,” says Kate Melhopt, Executive Officer of South Eastern Community Connect.

“Getting support to the elderly in our community is something that is important to me,” Aaron explains. “When I was little and my mum had twins, I got to spend a lot of time with our neighbour who looked after me. Today she is a senior citizen, and I want her and elderly people like her to receive the same loving care that she gave me. It is also my way of supporting my mum in what is important to her,” he says.

“I am returning to my roots in more than one way. My very first job was with SECC’s outside school hours care, and I like giving back to the organisation by volunteering whenever I can. If you don’t see me this weekend, come and find me next Thursday in the community space at Eastgardens.”

​South Eastern Community Connect will run its Awareness Doorknock over the following six weeks in South Eastern Sydney.

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