Contact: Peter Sinnott, Sue Preston.

Friday, February 13, 1998.

GRANTS BOOST FOR VICTORIA’S SENIOR CITIZENS WEEK - KNOWLES

Senior Citizens Week 1998 will benefit by $91,600 in Victorian Government grants to encourage community events across the State, the Health & Aged Care Minister, Rob Knowles, announced today.

The 148 grants have been made to 31 metropolitan municipal councils, 46 rural councils, 43 ethnic “umbrella” groups representing a number of associations, and 28 other “umbrella” groups.

Senior Citizens Week for older Victorians will be held from Sunday, March 15, to Sunday, March 22 this year.

“The funding will stimulate a wide range of events across Victoria, involving more than 250,000 older people,” Mr Knowles said.

“Applicants were requested to organise activities that addressed the Senior Citizens Week theme ‘Age of Discovery’.”

Mr Knowles said the Victorian Government has sponsored an annual Senior Citizens Week since 1983, and is committed to ongoing opportunities for older people.

“Senior Citizens Week aims to acknowledge the contribution older people have made to the growth and cultural heritage of Victoria,” he said.

“The Week promotes a continuing involvement of older people in all aspects of life, and draws community attention to the needs of all older people - not just for material care, but for a full, rich and satisfying lifestyle.”

Mr Knowles said that many councils have organised ‘Come and Try Days’ this year to give older people a taste of new interests and activities, such as computers, artistic pursuits, crafts, literature and line dancing.

The Government grants are:

Barwon South Western Region: Borough of Queenscliffe $300; City of Greater Geelong $2300; Colac Otway Shire $600; Corangamite Shire $1000; Glenelg Shire $500; Moyne Shire $600; Southern Grampians Shire $500; Surf Coast Shire $600; Warrnambool City Council $750.

Grampians Region: City of Ballarat $1000; Golden Plains Shire $350; Hepburn Shire $600; Hindmarsh Shire $600; Horsham Rural City $1000; Moorabool Shire $400; Northern Grampians Shire $600; Pyrenees Shire $400; Rural City of Ararat $900; Shire of Yarriambiack $800; West Wimmera Shire $800.

...../2

-2-

Loddon Mallee Region: Buloke Shire $500; Central Goldfields Shire $750; City of Greater Bendigo $1000; Gannawarra Shire Council $600; Loddon Shire $900; Macedon Ranges Shire $900; Mildura Rural City Council $1000; Campaspe Shire $900; Mount Alexander Shire $900; Swan Hill Rural City $1000.

Hume Region: Alpine Shire $300; Greater Shepparton City $1300; Wodonga City $350; Delatite Shire $500; Indigo Shire $1100; Mitchell Shire $400; Wangaratta Rural City $900; Murrindindi Shire $600; Strathbogie Shire $500; Towong Shire $500.

Gippsland Region: Bass Coast Shire $800; Baw Baw Shire $750; East Gippsland Shire $900; La Trobe Shire $1400; South Gippsland Shire $900; Wellington Shire and Central Wellington Health Service $900.

Western Metropolitan Region: Brimbank Council $1600; City of Maribyrnong $1000; City of Melbourne $1200; Wyndham City $1000; Hobsons Bay City $1000; Moonee Valley Council $1200; Melton Shire $500.

Northern Metropolitan Region: Banyule City $1000; Darebin City $1000; Whittlesea Council $1000; Yarra City $1000; Hume City $1200; Moreland City $1400; Nillumbik Shire $500.

Eastern Metropolitan Region: Boroondara City $1400; Knox City $1200; Maroondah City $1200; Monash City $1200; Whitehorse City $1500; Manningham City $1000; Yarra Ranges Shire $1400.

Southern Metropolitan Region: Bayside City Council/Bayside Recreation Services $1000; Cardinia Care, on behalf of Cardinia Shire $600; City of Casey $1300; Frankston City $1000; Glen Eira City $1200; City of Greater Dandenong $1500; Kingston City $1000; Port Phillip City $1300; Stonnington City $1300; Mornington Peninsula Shire $1000.

Ethnic umbrella groups: Swan Hill & District Aboriginal Co-op $350; Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-op, Geelong North $250; Anglo-Indian Australasian Association, Oakleigh $200; Association of Greek Elderly Citizens Clubs, Brunswick $1500; Association of Ukrainians in Geelong $250; Association of Ukrainians in Victoria, Essendon $250; Associazione Piemontesi Victoria Senior Group, Bulleen $200; Australian-Ceylon Fellowship, Springvale South $200; Australian Croatian Community Services, Footscray $300; Australian Greek Society for Care of the Elderly, South Clayton $300; Australian Greek Welfare Society, Brunswick $250; Australian Romanian Community Welfare, Melbourne $300.

Co-As-It Association of Senior Italian Citizens Clubs, Carlton $1200; Cyprus Community for the Elderly, Pascoe Vale South $600; Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria, Prahran $250; Federation of Spanish Speaking Senior Citizens, Melbourne $1000; Federation of Victorian Italian Pensioners, East Brunswick $600; Filipino Australian Senior Citizens Advisory Council, Footscray $400; Greeks From Egypt & The Middle East Senior Citizens, Windsor $250; Indo-China Ethnic Chinese Association of Victoria, Melbourne $200; International Women Writers & Artists Association, East Ormond $100; International Womens Handcraft Association, Eastern Mail $100; League of Greeks from Egypt & The Middle East, South Melbourne $250; Macedonian Senior Citizens Group of Altona North $100; Maltese Association Hobsons Bay, Altona North $250; Maltese Community Council of Victoria, Parkville $300.

Northern Metropolitan Multicultural Seniors Clubs Network, Broadmeadows $800; Northern Suburbs Arab Senior Citizens Club, Thomastown $150; Polish Community Council of Victoria, Melbourne $500; Polish Senior Citizens Club of St. Albans $100; Russian Ethnic Representative Council of Victoria, Clifton Hill $250; Slovenian Association Melbourne, Eltham $250; Sokol Melbourne, North Melbourne $100; South East Asian Assistance Committee, Syndal $200; Sri Lanka Association of Victoria, Melbourne $150.

Tamil Senior Citizens Fellowship, Flemington $200; Timorese Association in Victoria, East Melbourne $200; Vic Elderly Chinese Welfare Society, West Melbourne $400; Vietnamese Chinese Elderly Association in the West, St. Albans $250; Vietnamese Welfare Resource Centre, Flemington $200; Vincent Liem Centre, Flemington $200; Western Region Maltese Community Council Womens Group, West Sunshine $250; Yeshivah Centre, East St. Kilda $250.

...../3

-3-

Other umbrella groups: Association for the Blind - Braille & Talking Book Library, South Yarra $350; Bundoora Park Committee, Reservoir $100; Country Womens Association - McDonald Group, Dingley Village $150; Doutta Galla Frail Aged Services, Kensington $250; Friends of the Meat Market, North Melbourne $400; Genealogical Society of Victoria, Melbourne $150; Geriaction Inc., Balwyn East $200; Hume Veterans Golf Club, Sunbury $500; Loddon Campaspe Older Adults Recreation Network, Bendigo $250; Older Womens Network Melbourne $250; Polly Woodside Maritime Museum, Southbank $200.

Royal District Nursing Service Homeless Persons Program, Collingwood $750; Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Melbourne $100; Springers Indoor Bias Bowls Club, Keysborough $100; St. Francis Pastoral Centre, Melbourne $500; Table Tennis Victoria, South Melbourne $150; The U3A Network, Melbourne $50; Travellers Aid Society of Victoria, Melbourne $200; Victorian Council of Deaf People - Victoria, East Melbourne $250; Victorian Folklife Association & Community Music, Collingwood $250.

Victorian Indoor Bias Bowls Association, Oakleigh $100; Victorian Trugo Association, Chadstone $100; Victorian Writers’ Centre, Fitzroy $500; Wesley Central Mission, Melbourne $750; Wesley Central Mission - Do Care, Ringwood $250; Wimmera Older Adults Recreation Network, Horsham $200; WIN Support Services, Footscray $200; Zonta Club of Melbourne $100.

Media inquiries:

Graeme Walker, Department of Human Services, Media Unit (03) 9616 7296.

Serena Williams, Press Secretary (03) 9651 5799; 0412 683 876.

(F:press/Senior/gw/4.2.98)