Melinda Acret on stage at the Cooke Park Pavilion on Sunday as part of the Parkes School of Dance annual concert
Parkes Shire On Disaster Support List: Residents, farmers and businesses in the Parkes Shire will be able to access disaster assistance to help recover from recent severe weather events. Parkes has been added to the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) along with Cowra, Forbes, Weddin and Lockhart. The disaster assistance will help the councils cover the costs associated with the operational response and repairing damaged essential public assets. Local residents will also receive support to get back on their feet, including grants to replace essential household contents or repair structural damage to homes. For information on personal hardship and distress assistance, contact Service NSW on 13 77 88. To apply for a concessional loan or grant, contact the NSW Rural Assistance Authority on 1800 678 593 or visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au
Christmas Kindness:
Elders Parkes and Forbes have teamed up with The Salvation Army for a Christmas Toy Drive. The Salvation Army will ensure that gifts are delivered to all children this Christmas. Gifts can be placed under the trees at the two offices with a label to either boy or girl and an approximate age. Call 6862 922 for more information.
Parkes Uniting Church and Parkes Catholic Church are collecting/accepting Christmas gifts and donations to be handed to those in need.
Big W in Parkes has a donation tree at the front of the shop for gifts.
Coles has a $2 donation you can make through Redkite to help support children with cancer and their families, and to SecondBite to provide meals for Australians who need it most. Purchase in store or online.
Woolworths Parkes is part of a donation target to raise the equivalent of seven million meals this Christmas in support of OzHarvest. Purchase a 50c token in store or online, or choose to round up your purchase to the nearest dollar.
DIY December: With the school holidays upon us, parents are having to come up with new ideas to keep the kids entertained outside of turning the box on! Many families may have already exhausted their go to activities through lockdown and are in much need of new and innovative ideas. The Family Project is encouraging families to put down their phone or tablet and opt for a DIY December, spending some time with their loved ones making Christmas cards, decorations, advent calendars and gifts this Christmas. For some great ideas visit www.familyproject.org.au
Christmas Closure: The last edition of the Parkes Phoenix for 2021 will be next Friday, 17th December. The first edition of the new year will be Friday, 21st January, 2022.