Shoalhaven’s biggest day out for people with disability, their families and carers took place on September 28 at the Shoalhaven Indoor Sports Centre in Bomaderry.
The day was a huge success, with over 300 people attending and more than 60 disability service providers showcasing the supports and services they offer.
The event was opened by local Elder, Uncle Gerry Moore, followed by entertainment from some of our local musicians, including Mick on Wheels and Holly Menzies.
We were thrilled to have local Paralympians; Jasmine Greenwood and Jonathan Goerlach attend and be part of a Q&A Session with Mayor Amanda Finlay. Both Jonathon and Jasmine shared their inspiring stories and were well received by everyone at the event.
Jonathan shared his journey to becoming a Paralympian and Commonwealth Games Bronze Medalist while overcoming fears and learning to accept and celebrate his capabilities. Having avoided water sports from age 4 following a near death experience in a backyard pool, Jonathan decided at age 29 to take on a ‘challenge within a challenge’ and become Australia’s first male vision impaired triathlete at the Paralympic Games.
Jasmine spoke about growing up in Sussex Inlet and shared her experience of recovering from acquiring a brain injury at 6 years old after suffering two strokes, which impaired her left side. Jasmine was motivated through her rehabilitation process to become a competitive swimmer. She can proudly call herself a 4x World championship medalist, a Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist, and a Paralympic Silver Medalist in Para Swimming.
Community members who have attended the event previously were pleased to learn of new disability service providers in our region and to see the way the event has grown and the increased support available in the community.
For those attending for their first time, many were able to link in with new services and found having all the service providers at the one event to be very helpful. A number of the service providers commented on how happy they were to be at the Expo to see so much support from local organisations.
A great addition to the day, was the interactive workshop provided by new arrival to the Shoalhaven, Glenn Hulkes from Beyond Dance, who got people up dancing keeping the energy going through to the end of the Expo. This had followed an incredible performance by X Force – Shoalhaven Cheer Academy who wowed the crowd in the morning.
The event provided a fun and interactive school holiday activity where parents and their children could engage with disability service providers and participate in fun activities all under the one roof.
The importance of the event is for participants to realise there are options out there to live your best life, and we invite everyone to join us again next year.
