Marg Lucas chaired today's club meeting at the popular cafe and restaurant - Onyx in Reserve Road, Cheltenham. A lovely and bright cafe within an industrial zone of Cheltenham with great food and ambience - though also a space shared with other patrons.
GUEST SPEAKER - Darren Eger - Psychologist - Psychs on Bikes
Darren is a psychologist who spends his spare time sharing his expertise as a psychologist for Psychs on Bikes - a volunteer organisation that commenced in 2011 and supports health and mental health initiatives in rural and remote communities. The organisation recognises the reticence of people residing in rural Australia to seek medical services - particularly men relating to mental health. Psychs on Bikes seeks to address this and visits rural communities during purpose driven bike rides with teams of qualified mental health professionals who provide consultations to the general public in a friendly and open manner - most often at community events. Previous rides have taken teams around Australia, Tasmania, Adelaide and the East Coast of Australia. The next major planned ride is to go to Western Australia in April 2025. The success of their rides relies on engagement with organisations in rural communities - to link in with community events and promote their services. Psychs on Bikes is keen to foster relationships with groups such as Rotary and other community organisations to provide avenues for the general public to access their services when visiting rural areas. As a volunteer organisation, they also require funds to cover admin and transport costs - such as transporting their bikes prior to a ride. Thank you Darren for your very informative talk - delivered in rather challenging conditions over and above another group within the cafe attending another meeting. We recognise and appreciate the important service you and Psychs on Bikes provide to a largely untapped and emerging community need.
CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
Faye - announced a fund-raising High Tea event being held at Onyx on Saturday 20th July from 1-4pm, with funds raised to be donated to Cystic Fibrosis. The managers at Onyx are looking for groups to book a table to support the event. A flyer will be circulated to club members via Club Runner.
Ian also suggested forwarding details of any events to him, and he will place in the club bulletin for promotion.
NEXT CLUB MEETING - Wed 10th July will be held at Onyx.
