Committee for Chairman: Lorne Community Hospital 2018 Annual General Meeting

2018 has been a good year for the Lorne Op Shop.

Memberships and our business are growing steadily, enabling us to continue to support wide ranging community health initiatives in particular, Lorne Community Hospital.

A wonderful part of growing our membership is the establishment of new networks and the injection of fresh ideas, personalities, knowledge and skills.

The Lorne Op Shop owes its success to its volunteer members, where 42 volunteer positions are filled each week for a total of 168 volunteer hours weekly to keep the shop open from 10am to 4pm each day. This is a minimum total of 8,736 volunteer hours each year! Community support, team work, tolerance, commitment to purpose, and a sense of humour are
central to our success, day in and day out.

Working alone and with our
community partners like the Lorne
Community Hospital, we work to
support improved health and wellbeing
outcomes in the Lorne and
wider community.

A summary of projects financed by the Op Shop over the four years 2014– 2017 show that 69 projects were approved totalling $974,233. Lorne Community Hospital accounted for $823,512 or 84% of the total. Support for the hospital averaged around $205,000 each year over that period.

This pattern has continued over 2017 -2018. To this end we have made the following donations to the LCH including:
• Annual Appeal donation – $50,000
• Ocular Tomography Unit – $35,000
• Aged care garden renewal project – $79,050
• Hospital bed monitors – $5,772.00
• Aged care furniture and training -$26,032
• Hospital bariatric beds and walkers – $16,168
• Invisalign monitor for used in aged and acute care – $6,123
• 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor – $2,860
• Stationary bike and hire equipment – $3,628
• Cardiac probe for existing ultra sound machine
• Mental health program (women’s health dinner) – $1,500
• Hospital special treats for Aged Care Residents – $9,600 Other community projects supported by the Op Shop include:
• Lorne P-12 College – $600 for food for remote visitors from the St Teresa Aboriginal community
• Lorne Country Club defibrillator – $3000
• Red Frogs $20,000 in the last 12 months – $10,000 last year and $10,000 this year to help keep our schoolies safe
• Wye River / CFA and Community Garden, community mental health initiative – $4,434
• Lorne SES chainsaws, space bar and chain – $1,603
• Lorne fire brigade digital radios, batteries – $3,494 and a defibrillator – $3000
• Lorne Parkrun – $1500
• We also provide in-kind support beyond Lorne:
• The Geelong Mums – baby and children’s clothes
• Recycling of surplus stock to welfare organisations
• Rags for local businesses

I extend a special and huge thank you to all the very generous people who donate items to the Op Shop and of course, also to our wonderful customers and volunteers. Please keep up your valued donations and ongoing support that allows us t continue our work in the community.

On a more sombre note, I must add that whilst the majority of the donations we receive are items of merchantable quality, we also receive items, particularly clothing which for a variety of reasons; wear and tear, stains, general condition etc., we
cannot offer for sale. WE actually have to pay to have these items taken away for disposal. Over the past 12 months the Op Shop has spent nearly $10,000 to arrange for removal and disposal of damaged goods. That’s $10,000 we cannot contribute to our community.

We ask you to consider this when you select the items you wish to donate to the Op Shop.

If you can spare some time to volunteer in the shop, we would love to hear from you – permanent, occasional and emergency volunteer shifts are available! We are a happy team and look forward to meeting you. Please call into the Op Shop and leave your details for our Secretary Wendy Jarratt or contact me at [email protected] if you want to become a member of our happy team.

Finally, on behalf of the Executive and Members of the Lorne Op Shop I extend Season’s Greetings for a Happy Christmas and New Year to you all.

Stella O’Donnell
President Lorne Op Shop