Media Releases

Health Transport report shows Northern Rivers residents are missing out on health care due to insufficient or inappropriate transport options

It's not always easy to find the right transport services to get you around Ballina Shire, or to know if any transport concessions are available to you. On Thursday 28 February, a Transport Information Stall will be held at Ballina Fair Shopping Centre from 9am till 2pm and representatives from local transport providers will be there to answer any and all transport-related questions.

Families of children with disability from birth to eight years old are invited to take part in an innovative new study about belonging in the Tweed Shire. The Belonging Project explores what it means to feel included and connected in the Tweed Shire community and researcher Danielle Notara is calling for participants to get involved and talk about their experiences of living in a regional community. By interviewing children with disability and their families and using a combination of drawing, play and photography, researchers aim to find out from the children which areas of our communities are more inclusive than others.

If you know of someone who works in a community services organisation on the North Coast of NSW who deserves to be recognised for their dedication to making the world a better place to live in, nominate them now for one of the 2012 Community Sector Ball Awards categories. The closing date for the 2012 Community Sector Ball Award nominations has been extended until October 26, but don't wait until the last minute to send in your nominations, there are some great prizes for the winners! Categories include: Most Inspirational, Above and Beyond the Call of Duty, In the Line of Fire, Centre of the Universe, Community Group or Team and Private Sector Partner.

This year, a new award has been created to allow the North Coast community to vote for a volunteer nominated in this year's Above and Beyond the Call of Duty award category. The Northern Star's People's Choice - Volunteer of the Year Award gives everyone a chance to vote for a community sector volunteer who works tirelessly to make the world a better place by keeping our community organisations running.

Winning awards doesn't come easily to some people, especially to someone who calls themself a 'shy, retiring' type. For Darlene Cook, financial administrator of Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre (NRCLC), winning an award at last year's inaugural Community Sector Ball and Awards Night came as a "bit of a shock".

While Darlene says she doesn't like being the centre of attention, her workmates at NRCLC nominated her for the 'Centre of The Universe' award - an award that recognises the huge contribution the ‘quiet achievers’ behind the scenes make to the community services sector. With nominations now open for the 2012 Community Sector Ball Awards, Darlene wants to encourage people to start thinking about a community service worker they would like to see nominated for one of the 2012 Community Sector Ball Awards, especially the quiet achievers.