Media coverage - The Mercury: Testing times for a cause

Mission Australia recently hosted a five-course degustation dinner to raise funds for MA's Chigwell House in Tasmania. At the dinner, guests were asked to guess the key ingredients in each dish as well as the type and origin of each wine.

The below article on MA's fundraising event appeared in The Mercury yesterday.

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The dessert did us in.

Judith Sweet and I were doing some forensic dining at the Ultimate Taste Test, the dinner cooked by Paul Foreman to raise funds for Mission Australia.

Each of the five courses came with a list of questions.

Was the fish blue-eye, swordfish, spanish mackerel or stripey trumpeter? Was the special ingredient in the foam scallop, anchovy, urchin roe or mussel? We were right with the blue-eye and urchin roe, and correctly identified samphire as the green vegetation.

Samphire, also known as sea asparagus and sea fennel, grows in many coastal areas.

It has a salty taste and a firm, fleshy texture.

Ours, from Bruny Island, was collected by oyster farmer Hedley Browning.

Not the usual beady-looking succulent, it was more like a mini fern.

Paul liked its "nicely toned down" taste.

As the partner of a blueberry and strawberry grower, I'm ashamed to admit I did not pick strawberries in a berry consomme, along with blueberries and raspberries.

But, as Paul said: "You put ingredients together and it changes the flavour of them. Then you put the herbs in and it really makes it tough."

He had added basil, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Fundraising by way of an elaborate dinner is in marked contrast to the circumstances of the people the money will help.

Mission Australia's Chigwell House, in northern Hobart, is in an area with the highest proportion of single-parent families in the state.

It is the home base for a number of the 22 services the mission runs.

These include Parents Staying Connected, which teaches parenting skills, and Youth Beat, which sends a couple of youth workers with a van of information out to places where kids gather.

We were eating at Cooleys Hotel in Moonah, better known for chicken parmi than fine dining.

But Paul, who is food manager of the seven hotels in the Kalis Group, said regulars, too, enjoyed being taken out of the ordinary now and again to meet – tonka beans.

These South American beans, a favourite of Paul's, cost $500/kg and can be poisonous in great quantities.

They can be milled or grated into custards, foam, parsnip puree or, in this case, parfait.

They have a compendium flavour – vanilla, cardamom, clove, cumin and cinnamon are all in there.

So when we were asked what was in the parfait, we got it wrong.

We missed out on winning by two points.

Story published in The Mercury on Thursday 16 June.

Mums staying connected at Chigwell House

With Mother’s Day coming up, we’d like to share some wonderful feedback we received from Amelia*, one of the mums who benefited from our Parents Staying Connected Program at Mission Australia Centre Chigwell House in Hobart.

The program is one of many offered at Chigwell House to help people address personal issues and secure and maintain stable housing. Parents Staying Connected provides opportunities for families to access ongoing learning and play sessions, create links to education and parenting support, attend social events, increase confidence and work in a community garden. It’s designed to help families to work toward brighter futures for themselves and their children.

Amelia is a 22-year-old single mum of two children under five who has turned her life around thanks to the Parents Staying Connected program. Here she kindly shares her experiences about the support she received at Mission Australia Centre Chigwell House:

“When I went into the Parents Staying Connected Program I was scared how people would treat me, look at me, think of me! My confidence was very low as I have just come out of a difficult relationship and living from place to place. My two children are very clingy and won’t leave my side, but when I walked into Parents Staying Connected at Chigwell House we were very welcomed!

“I sort of didn’t know how to approach people and what to say. I was very nervous about meeting new people as I thought everyone there had normal relationships, a house and everything was sweet. I felt so alone and depressed. I remember just saying to myself ‘just open up and be me’, so I did and I got along with everyone. The kids and I played and laughed and I had a really good time.

“Staff made me feel like I had always been a part of the group and I chatted with other mums about everyday things and the time flew by. I was really wrapped in myself and the kids. My son kept on asking me ‘Mummy, when’s playgroup? Can we go now?’ That made me smile as he was never like that before.

“It was also great to see some friends I went to school with there. As time went by I got some really close friends now who have been through the same as what I went through. I finally wasn’t going through it on my own.

“My children are now starting to go and play with other children - they wouldn’t do that before. I was so wrapped when I heard I could do a first aid and Save a Mate course there, so I can further my skills and my children could come with me. I have now done these and I’m really happy where I am at. I have now got a house, my kids are happy and we look forward to going to Parents Staying Connected every week.

“It’s now just over a year since I started coming to Parents Staying Connected, staff from Mission Australia have helped me put my children into day care so I can study community services. My aim is to work with the youth. My children are happy, my depression and anxiety are up and down but under control as I’m building my future.

“I feel that I have came along way since starting Parents Staying Connected and I hope my future goals come together and my confidence builds stronger every day.”

You can help build brighter futures

On 25 May Mission Australia is hosting The Ultimate Taste Test at Cooleys Hotel, Moonah, to raise funds for Mission Australia Centre Chigwell House and support more families like Amelia’s. Guests at this secret five-course degustation will be asked to guess the key ingredients in each dish and the type and origin of each matching wine. Tickets are $120, including five courses with paired wines. For more details or to book call Erica Loring on (03) 6234 3240 or email loringe@missionaustralia.com.au.

You can also assist Mission Australia to help more families and children to get their lives on track by making a donation to our Winter Appeal.

*Name has been changed

Media Release: Tasmanians invited to the ultimate taste test

Tasmanians are invited to put their tastebuds to the ultimate test, all in the name of raising much needed funds for Mission Australia’s Chigwell House.

Mission Australia is hosting a secret five-course degustation including matched wines, where guests will be asked to guess the key ingredients in each dish as well as the type and origin of each wine.

Mission Australia’s State Director Noel Mundy said the beneficiary of the evening was Chigwell House, which provides a range of community and accommodation services, including low-cost housing for those considered at risk of homelessness.

“Mission Australia’s Centre, Chigwell House provides a range of programs that help clients address personal issues and enable them to secure and maintain stable housing,” Mr Mundy said.

“Programs offered at the Centre include Parents Staying Connected, Integrated Family Support Service, Youth Beat, Youth Connections and a Community Garden.

“Other services offered include a free Child Health Nurse, a volunteer solicitor, Centrelink appointments and cooking lessons for all community members.”

Mr Mundy said the evening’s secret five-course menu was created by renowned Tasmanian chef Paul Foreman,

“Paul will be treating guests to a secret five-course dinner using local and seasonal produce to enliven diners’ senses,” he said.

The Ultimate Taste Test will be held on Wednesday, 25 May at Cooleys Hotel. Tickets are $120 which includes five courses with paired wines.

For more information about the Ultimate Taste Test evening please contact Erica Loring on (03) 6234 3240 or email loringe@missionaustralia.com.au.

Mission Australia acknowledges the generous contribution of Cooleys, Brown Brothers, Bream Creek Vineyard, Treasury Estate and Big Bargain Bottle Shop.

For further information or to organise an interview please contact Lucinda Bray, Font Public Relations, 0438 280 486

Mission Australia’s New Year Appeal launched today

At this time of fresh starts, Mission Australia is asking generous people across the nation to help disadvantaged Australians find their way in 2011.

Launched on Friday 7 January, Mission Australia’s New Year Appeal aims to raise funds that will assist people experiencing tough times to find a way out of homelessness and disadvantage.

The New Year Appeal highlights how specific Mission Australia services help people strengthen family relationships, escape homelessness, and prepare youth for a successful transition into adulthood.

The profiled services include Chigwell House, which is a family accommodation and support service centre in Tasmania; Mission Australia’s innovative Nightspot service for young homeless people in south-eastern Queensland; and Youth Connections in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.

To find out how you can help an Australian in need to find their way in 2011, please visit our New Year Appeal page at www.missionaustralia.com.au/new-year-appeal

Anti-Poverty Week launched in Hobart

Anti-Poverty Week – 17-23 October

The Hobart community of Glenorchy yesterday did its bit to raise awareness about disadvantage at an Anti-Poverty Week barbecue held at the Mission Australia Centre, Chigwell House.

Mission Australia staff, volunteers and members of the local community launched the week in fine festive style.

According to Family Liaison Officer Shelley Moore approximately 100 people attended - some that we provide services to as well as those from the broader community.

“It was one of the best events we’ve ever held,” said Shelley.

“It had a really nice feel to it. We had a jumping castle, lolly-guessing competitions food activities and music.”

Parents Staying Connected participants provided face-painting for the local children and staff from another Mission Australia service, Youth Connections, conducted a drum-beat session.

The event was launched by Anti-Poverty Week patron Bernadette Black, a Tasmanian author who is an advocate for young parents.

"I was a 16-year old-mum when I had my first child and I was really quite close to that poverty line," she said.

Ms Black emphasised that poverty can strike anyone. "For most of us in Australia now - with the pressures being so hard - it can be an unplanned pregnancy, a death of a loved one, it can be something that you know can happen to any of us that can get us to this poverty line when we need all the help and support of the community.”

Tasmanian Association of Community Houses representative John Hooper said it was important to highlight the services and support networks available to struggling Tasmanians.

"We're trying to support communities to assist themselves and lift them out of the situation they're in," he told The Mercury.

Mission Australia Centre, Chigwell House functions as a neighbourhood ‘hub’ offering support to families and young people in the Glenorchy City Council area of north-east Hobart. The centre offers a unique blend of community programs designed to transform the lives of young parents and teenagers in the local area. It also comprises 14 social housing units for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.