Eumundi Voice - Issue 97, 11 July 2024

VOLUNTEERING

It’s all working well - until it isn’t!

It’s a wintery Tuesday morning in Eumundi as a handful of women start to arrive at the local Queensland Country Women’s Association (QCWA) hall. Although the vibe is high energy, the chat is turning to counting heads. “Do we have a quorum today?” Laughing voices suggest they may need to call a few members and ‘dial them into the meeting’ so that they have a quorum to vote on their important resolutions. No one in the room wants these resolutions held over until next month.

You’re probably reading this and thinking it’s not really a big issue. And maybe it’s not – unless you have children attending the Eumundi State School, North Arm State School, Noosa District State High School, or even the mighty Magpies Football Club. You may have been a patient at any number of public hospitals up and down the Sunshine Coast over the past year or so, or if you are a woman approaching retirement, you may be worrying how you are going to stop yourself sliding into poverty and homelessness. If you ticked any of those boxes, then the work of the local QCWA is very important to you.

Like its 243 sister branches, the Eumundi QCWA branch works to raise funds that support their local community. The branch contributes to a high number of wellbeing programmes in our local schools, provides two education bursaries, ensures students are not excluded from their Graduation Formal by meeting the cost of unpaid school fees. Branch members also contribute their time in providing expertise across a number of school activities.

The Eumundi branch punches above its weight when contributing to the Sunshine Coast Wishlist initiative. Wishlist provides hospitals with items that improve the daily experiences of a range of patients, most specifically patients undergoing cancer treatments, and mothers and their babies in the maternity units. Local sporting clubs are also the recipients of financial and in-kind support from the Eumundi branch.

The QCWA is a grassroots association with members from across the state bringing advocacy proposals to state gatherings for consideration and endorsement. The latest State Advocacy Project is speaking out to prevent women ageing into poverty and homelessness. You might be surprised to know that this statewide initiative originated from the Eumundi branch.

Keeping hall hiring fees well below commercial rates allows the branch to support other local community and interest groups and ensures these groups can continue to operate within the town, enriching the experience of living in Eumundi and local areas. The hall is also a focus for the Original Eumundi Market, being the site for the first stalls that set up in March 1979. The branch continues this tradition by still holding stalls on the veranda of the hall during Wednesday markets. The funds raised at these stalls contribute to the community work undertaken by the branch.

So, going back to those optimistic women, setting up chairs and tables in anticipation of a successful meeting, the handful attending on this particular day are a good representative example of the branch membership. Some are newly retired, others are notching up three and

four decades of service with the association, but all are enthusiastic and passionate about their branch, and all agree the addition of a younger level of energy would be welcomed.

Any organisation may experience the impact of ageing members facing the challenges of failing health, limited transport options, and sometimes just a weariness. The Eumundi QCWA is no different.

So, what happens when these women stop doing what they do for us? Let’s not find out. Why not call in the next time you pass, they are there most Tuesdays. The second Tuesday of the month you might run into those enthusiastic women setting up for their meeting; a helping hand might be greeted with a sweet treat, a cuppa, and definitely a warm smile. Other Tuesdays could reward you with some tips around sewing, tie-dying, preserving lemons, or maybe even writing a poem from your shopping list!

What I do know is that any level of encouragement for what they do in our community would put a smile on their faces. Stephanie Ryder