The wonderful ladies from Companions Thru Cancer who ran the Soup Day, pictured are SandraClarke (Treasurer), Kay Newbigging (Secretary), Penny Downes, Mavis Moon (President), Kay Ivey (Vice Secretary), Margret Green and Marilyn Phipps.

The Companions Thru Cancer group held their annual Soup Day last Thursday 20th June, at the Parkes Red Cross Rooms. It is one of the main fundraisers for the group who then donate the money back to the community in various ways.

This year the Soup Day was very popular and the group raised $750. There was a raffle to help raise money and the lucky winner of the raffle was Vanessa Woolner.

The group is always looking for new members to come along and join, they meet up socially once a month and there is also a monthly newsletter. President Mavis Moon said “We would love some younger members to join, as we are an older group who are mostly in our 80s.”

Last year the group ran Soup Day at Neighborhood Central in Parkes for their staff and volunteers, this year it was decided to open it up to the public and the Red Cross rooms were the perfect setting.

It is still undecided where the money raised will be donated to, but Mavis said “Each year we like to donate any money we raise to a local charity, in the past we have donated to CanAssist, Cur­rajong Enterprises, Careflight, RFS and other local charities”. All are welcome to attend the upcoming AGM being held in August at Parkes Neighbourhood Central.

Maree, Justin, Amanda from Parkes Eyecare Plus.

At Hansen’s Eyecare Plus in Parkes, we are excited to now be able to offer Orthokeratol­ogy, also known as Ortho K. We have been successfully using Ortho K in our Orange practice for nearly a decade and now have the equipment to also be able to provide the service at our Parkes practice.

Have you heard of Orthokeratology? Or­tho K is a safe and reversible non-surgical form of vision correction for myopia (short-sightedness) that eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses during the day.

A specially designed contact lens is worn while sleeping each night. This lens gently flattens the shape of the cornea, allowing for clear vision that lasts throughout the entire day after the person wakes up and removes the lenses.

Ortho K is a great alternative to laser vi­sion correction surgery for those that are apprehensive about eye surgery or who find the costs associated with laser surgery too high. It is suitable for almost anyone with myopia especially those that find glasses or contacts not suitable to their work envi­ronment, people that play sports or are in­volved in water activities. It is also a great treatment for children as it is proven to stop or slow down the progression of their myo­pia.

Ortho K is a reversible procedure. The Australian Therapeutics Goods Administra­tion recognises the use of Ortho K lenses.

The risk of infection with Ortho K wear has been shown to be no higher to that of wear­ing soft contact lenses overnight.

The first step is to book an appointment today at Hansen Eyecare Plus in Parkes or Orange where one of our optometrists can check whether you are a suitable candidate for Ortho K.

Kids Helpline is encouraging boys and young men to take time to prioritise their mental health this week, as part of Interna­tional Men’s Health Week.

yourtown CEO Tracy Adams says this week is important for all members of the community, but particularly young men and those with young men in their lives, to build a positive culture around mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Data from Kids Helpline highlights that young males are less likely to engage in help-seeking for mental health concerns compared with females. On average during May Kids Helpline recorded 57 responses a day from young males compared with 195 females.

Counsellors at Kids Helpline respond to 21% males and 79% females on any given day, with males aged between 19 to 25 years of age representing the largest (37%) male help-seeking group.

Kids Helpline offers boys and young men a safe, inclusive space to connect with pro­fessional support 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Kids Helpline is Australia’s only na­tional 24/7 counselling service specifically for children and young people aged 5 to 25 years – free call 1800 55 1800 or www.kid­shelpline.com.au