Imagine, if you can, working in a job that you truly enjoy. I do.

I am the Business Development Manager at The Disability Trust, a large disability services organisation providing services from Southern Sydney to Bega on the NSW Southern Coast.

My role involves a mind boggling variety of tasks and is never dull. This week I attended the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) rally in Sydney, organised by the Every Australian Counts team.

Around 10,000 people attended rallies around Australia, including the Sydney rally, to let the nation know we need to make the NDIS happen soon - because we wanted it yesterday!

I started the day at 7.30am in Kiama, where a cold breeze blew just a little too brisk. I met up with Gareth Ward, the NSW State Member for Kiama, who was there to see off the bus to the Sydney rally. A quick photo for the local paper later, we were on the bus and on our way.

During the first leg of our journey, we picked up a group of of people and made our official first stop at Kembla Grange Racecourse for a local Illawarra rally.

Around 100 people, including a few more local politicians and a horde of media, were there to show their support for the NDIS. Our next stop was Sydney.

The rally was incredible. Everyone was shouting and getting right into the spirit of the event. I saw one man who was so excited he couldn’t sit in his seat. I spoke to him later and he has a son with down syndrome. He sees the NDIS as something that can really give his 12 year old son, and his son’s friends, the opportunity for a life he couldn’t previously imagine.

There were a number of rousing speakers including Ricky Stuart, who has a daughter with a disability, and PM Julia Gillard, who announced the NIDS will commence next year. Julia Gillard stayed and mixed with the crowd for a while after the event.

In something that can happen only in Australia, I was able to take photos of a few of the guys from the Wollongong Self Advocacy group with the Prime Minister. It was the highlight of their year, with one of them already ordering copies of the photo to give to friends.

From cold Kiama to 'photo shoots' with the Prime Minister, to being present when the NDIS was actually announced, and to hearing the excited stories on the ride home,

It was just another day at the office. 

At Sport and Recreation Services, International Day for People with a Disability allows our participants to participate in a number of events or showcase their skills in a variety of ways. The Disability Trust is committed to “creating an inclusive world” and International Day for People with a Disability is a great way to encourage inclusion across the community.

This year, our Altogether Drama group will be performing a traditional English pantomime of Cinderella, alongside the Wollongong Workshop Theatre group. The performers have previously been in a number of productions including Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and this is Altogether Drama’s 18th year of performing.

Every year, we hold our Christmas Party on the first weekend of December where all participants from all Sport and Recreation Service’s programs come together to enjoy a night of dancing and games. As always there has been a lot of excitement building over the past few weeks and we are sure it will also be a great night.

Finally, our Leisure Link group will be taking part in the Shoalhaven International Day for People with a Disability Dinner Dance, held annually at the Bomaderry RSL Club. This event is the hard work of the Shoalhaven Disability Forum, and our group has been busy making their hats for this year’s Happy Hatters theme.

What do you do to celebrate International Day of People with Disability? Share your story here.

 

As I have been away on holidays, I asked one of our newest team members at Sport & Recreation Services, Tennille Owen, to share her experiences in working with us and for a disability service provider.

Tennille is employed as our Administrative Assistant and is supported by The Disability Trust’s employment service Workskills.

Tennille has submitted her story about finding work in the disability sector to carecareers' True Stories section. You can submit your story too, to help job seekers decide if a care career is for them!

What do you want to hear about in my next blog? You can ask me questions at Career Advice and Opinions.

This month I'd like to introduce you to the service I work in and specifically the roles of my staff. Sport & Recreation Services of The Disability Trust is a unique service that specifically offers a number of sport and recreational opportunities for all ages and abilities. The service commenced in 1993 and has expanded to offer a wide variety of programs to participants who access our service.

There are two Managers of the service. Along with me, Michael Norris is the Manager of our after school sporting programs and popular Fitness 4 All business. Michael has worked with The Disability Trust for 9 years and oversees a range of sporting programs across a number of regions that are held after school and on weekends. I manage the majority of our school programs including After School and Vacation Care, and our BlueScope Steel Sports Ready program offering sporting activities for school support units in the Illawarra region of NSW.

Our other team members include the following staff:

Annette Pilon is our Coordinator of After School & Vacation Care, for children 12 to 18 years. Annette has worked in the disability sector for the past 2 years, starting as a project officer before moving into this role last year. She says the best part of her job is that “through our programs our clients are able to participate in a wider variety of community activities they would not normally get a chance to participate in”.

Jenny Murphy is our Project Officer of After School & Vacation Care. She is responsible for the programming and resourcing of our After School and Vacation Care programs in the Illawarra region of NSW. Jenny has worked in the disability sector for the past 4 years, and has been in this role for the past year. Jenny says the best part of her role is seeing the participants interacting with each other, trying new things and enjoying what is programmed for them, such as sensory rooms, music sessions, art and craft programs, visits to animal parks and meeting sports stars.

Amy Carroll is one of our Sport and Recreation Officers and also is a Fitness 4 All Trainer. Her main role is helping to organise sporting programs and camps for people with a disability. She also provides exercise for people with an intellectual disability at group homes and also in a mainstream setting through Fitness 4 All. Amy has an Exercise Physiology background and she has worked for the past 3 years in the sector, starting her career with Sport & Recreation Services. Amy says the best part of her role is helping families and individuals accomplish things that they have otherwise been told they would not. “Seeing them smile when they have overcome barriers and participated in something they have always wanted to is the best part of my job”.

Susan Booth is our Sport & Recreation Officer for the Shoalhaven region of NSW. Susan also develops and resources our weekly programs and after school and vacation care. Although new to this role, Susan has been in the disability sector for 8 years. Susan says the best part of her role is seeing clients achieve and extend their potential through the programs we offer.

Megan Murphy is our BlueScope Steel Sports Ready Teacher, who conducts weekly sporting classes in school support units across the Illawarra. Megan is new to this role, and has worked in the disability sector for the past year. She says the best part of her role is that she gets to give kids with disability the opportunity to try new sports, and enjoys seeing the smiles on their faces when they do something they didn’t think they could do. “I love it how everyone has so much fun, even the teachers and aides at each school. The kids always want to try new games and sports and are really enthusiastic”.

It’s amazing how we can relate the saying “Where there’s a will there’s a way” to disability services. As a service provider we’re always looking for ways to modify, adapt or change things to ensure we're providing the best possible service. And we are constantly asking others to do the same to promote acceptance and inclusion.

I was at the launch of International Day of People with Disability in Sydney earlier this month, where I met a number of inspiring and talented people. It’s amazing how many programs and services are out there for people with a disability, in a variety of contexts, and it was also incredible to watch a number of people perform and do things that I have had no experience in.

With so many services in the sector, there is a great potential for organisations and individuals to partner together to increase the opportunities for people with disability.

An example of this is a group my service is involved in called Sports 4 All. This group of service providers and individuals have come together to create greater opportunities for people with disability by enabling access to sporting competitions based on ability.

We’re proud to be involved in the program which covers both metropolitan and regional NSW and includes various activities for participants, such as FUTSAL (indoor soccer), softball, ten pin bowling and basketball. We’re planning more activities across a number of other regions too.

Sports 4 All focuses more on the needs and wants of individuals rather than whether they can perform at an elite level. Sports are chosen by participants and the program is a perfect example of providing opportunities, no matter what people’s abilities are - it’s all about having a go!