Teddy Bears Picnic – celebrating children
Cire Services was a bit like the Pied Piper of the Yarra Valley recently when it hosted two fun-packed festivals at its community hubs to celebrate national Children’s Week.
Hundreds of pre-schoolers and their families including mums and dads and grandparents, and the local young-at-heart, gathered for the festivities which focused on the 2019 theme of ‘Children have the right to be healthy, safe and happy. Richer countries should help poor countries achieve this’.
With a teddy bears picnic theme, all who attended enjoyed a full program of activities at the Chirnside Park and Yarra Junction hubs on Tuesday and Thursday, 22 and 24 October respectively.
Highlights included performances by educational theatre company, The Flying Bookworm, the musical magic of local drummer Kofi Kunkpe, storytimes with Bookaburra and Eastern Regional Libraries, energetic dance classes with Count Me in Dance Company, badge making, plaster mould painting, playdough, robotics, and cut and paste and sensor activities and lots more.
It was also one-stop shopping for information about local services and activities with stalls promoting Cire Children’s Services, Cire Training, Cire Community Hubs; the CFA complete with truck; local pre-schools and primary schools, Yarra Range Council Family and Community Services (FaCS), EDVOS, Healesville Hospital and Yarra Valley Health, Eastern Regional Libraries, Brain Gym, and Count Me in Dance School.
In keeping with the 2019 theme, and to plant the seeds of social justice among our youngsters, Cire showcased a charity it supports in North Bali. The son of the founder, who was a special guest at Chirnside Park where he wore traditional dress, thanked all those who donated to the Aura Sukma Insani Foundation. Former Cire employee and Yarra Junction resident, Heather Dryden volunteers at the charity which focuses on education, housing and medical care in remote areas.
Cire hosted the teddy bears picnics with the support of Yarra Ranges Council as well as businesses from the region including the Fingers Orchard at Launching Place, Yarra Valley Archery Park, Belgravia Leisure’s Yarra Centre, Oz Tenpin Bowling, Bunnings Lilydale and Croydon, Maroondah Golf Park, and Readings.
‘Cire is proud to partner with others to ensure such an event is successful and that we work together to strengthen our broader community, through inclusiveness and connectedness,’ said Gus Seremetis Chief Executive Officer of Cire, one of the largest not-for-profits serving the Yarra Ranges and beyond and unique to the region.
‘It is tremendous that Children’s Week is helping sow the seeds of social justice with a focus on helping less fortunate children overseas, as well as promoting the rights of children in Australia.’
Ms Seremetis was delighted to welcome Dodi Sukadana from the Aura Sukma Insani Foundation.
‘Cire’s values closely align with those of the Foundation which we actively support,’ added Ms Seremetis.
