HASTINGS Bowls Club is abuzz with warm chatter on the first Friday of each month as locals attend Scones on Hastings. And Friday 3 February was no exception with more than 50 attending the first Scones on Hastings for 2023.
In the wake of the pandemic and being isolated in lockdowns a group of locals, with the support of the Hastings Bowls club, decided to hold a welcoming morning tea serving Devonshire teas and coffee to help bring people together. This has now been running for more than 12 months.
Even though the cost is only $2 for tea or coffee and scones with jam and cream, the group has accumulated a surplus and decided to donate the money to help local school children.
This surplus has been donated each school term for awards to encourage students at Hastings and Wallaroo primary schools, and with a donation to Western Port Community House to help families buy books and school supplies for the new year.
Many families, especially with the increased cost of living, are doing it tough and appreciate all the help they can get.
The first gathering of 2023 was also addressed by Kerryn Dux, pathways and coach coordinator at Bayview Care, a community organisation that encourages older people to volunteer to monitor a primary school child and spend a few hours each week talking and listening to children.
Mentors sit with a child at one of the local schools for one hour a week for minimum 12 months. Mentors help children in learning positive social skills, having fun, reaching their goals and building resilience.
Dux encouraged people to volunteer and said Bayview’s slogan A friend with a purpose, summed up its aims.
Members of the bowling club were at the first meeting of the year of Scones on Hastings.
Scones on Hastings started with 20 people in December 2021 and now the average number of people attending each month is more than triple the number of the first meeting.
The next Scones on Hastings starts at 10am on Friday 3 March.
Tony Duboudin
First published in the Western Port News – 15 February 2023
