Almost 100 young people with disabilities, their siblings and parents and carers rocked out for National Carer’s Week in Bendigo thanks to Castlemaine Health.
Held at seven different venues across the city on Sunday 21 October, the Siblings Rock event encouraged adults and kids to choose their ideal day out from seven different activities and venues.
Whether it was relaxing at the cinema or the thrills and spills of an indoor play park, everyone who took part had the chance to enjoy an awesome free day out and make some new friends.
Siblings Rock activities for carers were designed to be uplifting and provide respite, while activities for kids were designed to be heaps of fun. All guests were treated to a buffet lunch catered by Peppergreen Farm, a social enterprise which provides training for people with disability or experiencing disadvantage.
Castlemaine Health Adult Day Service Manager Rachel Fry said: “We wanted to run an event that gave carers time out from their caring role and offered some time for networking and socialising . To do that, we set out some fantastic supported options for young people with disabilities and their siblings.”
Activities included pottery making at Bendigo Pottery, fun at Parky’s Wonderland, dance class at BEAM Dance Studio, Village Cinema Gold Class movie tickets, ten pin bowling at Bendigo Bowling Centre, and everything on offer at the Zone.
Rachel said: “Running this event for Carer’s Week really acknowledges the importance of siblings. They are absolute stars.”
Research shows that siblings of young people with a disability play a huge role in supporting their sibling/s, in particular they have a big impact on social and emotional wellbeing. The event gave siblings from Castlemaine, Bendigo and beyond the chance to have fun with other siblings.
Siblings Rock was a huge success, attracting families from across the region and giving everyone involved some wonderful memories to take home.
One parent said that Siblings Rock was: “Exceptional. It was wonderful to relax through Gold Class with a cool Australian movie knowing our children were having a ball while being cared for. The staff and volunteers built wonderful rapport with the kids which made our leaving transition for the movies seamless.”
Castlemaine Health acknowledges the Victorian Government’s support for this event.
