Term 2, 2026, Victory Community Centre e-Pānui...

Kia ora <<First Name>>, welcome to our latest Community Centre e-pānui. We've moved on from Mailchimp to Email Octopus to distribute these updates. Hope this doesn't present any issues for you, it should hopefully be a smooth and seamless transition! 

We use these e-pānui to share news and info about our clinics and services as well as Community Centre activities and community notices.

We've got some exciting news about new members of the team to share with you. Jannelle Pene is our new Pou Kaimahi and Janaya Rodgers has started as the Rangatahi Programme Coordinator. We profile our new Pou Kaimahi, Jannelle below!  We were stoked to officially welcome Jannelle to the team a couple of weeks ago. She is such a superstar! Big thank you to Kim Hippolite for supporting Jannelle and to VCC Board Member Chris Mullholland and Matua Harvey Ruru for their help with the Mihi Whakatau. Alas Janaya was unwell so we couldn’t welcome her then. 

We have a couple of well-being notices from our Community Nurse and Alcohol & Drug Clinician below. If you are all about the Māra Kai and the action in our Community Garden keep scrolling! 

On Saturday the 2nd of May we're running a Fundraising Ceilidh Dance Party for the Community Centre. Please come along and bring your friends & whānau! More details below.

Another big piece of news is that we have settled on the date for our Matariki Celebration! Mark your calendars people! Wednesday the 1st of July will be the big day. It is always so special here, a time for remembrance, celebrating and looking to the future. If you would like to get involved then please email Steve.

Mark your calendars folks, we’re running a fundraising Ceilidh Dance Party for the Community Centre on Saturday the 2nd of May. Please come along and bring your friends & whānau! We’ll have an evening of fun, fundraising and dancing – with supper, spot prizes, raffles and silent auctions. We’re stoked that the amazing Footloose Ceilidh Band will be leading the action. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children. Head along to our website to book your tickets.

Like many not-for-profits, we are facing increasing demand for our services alongside growing funding constraints. This will be a fun way of supporting our mahi and helping us raise funds. We hope to see you here then!.

This is very cool, we’ve leapt into the 21st Century people! You can now check the availability of our hireable spaces and submit a booking request online. Head to our website and browse the rooms here. Each listing has information about facilities, capacity & pricing. There is a clickable link to request a booking towards the bottom of each page.  Steve & Nadia’s messy Rūma tari paru is not available for hire. 😉 

In February we had the great honour of supporting Luz to become a New Zealand citizen. Felicidades Luz! Citizenship ceremonies are usually held in the Council Chamber and officiated by the Mayor or Deputy Mayor but the Minister of Internal Affairs can approve a private ceremony under special circumstances. Steve was able to officiate through his role as a Justice of the Peace. Massive thanks to Norma, our Community Navigator, who did a huge amount of mahi to help make this happen. Feels great to support local people in this way!

Steve's role as a JP means he can assist people with witnessing signatures on documents, certifying copies of documents (including email attachments and phone messages), taking oaths, declarations, affidavits or affirmations and confirming identity. If you ever need this JP service here, please email: Steve or call us on 03 546 8389.

Sabien Blazek is our fabulous Alcohol & Drug Clinician. Have you tried cutting down but have struggled to maintain this? Do you want some practical strategies to cut down or stop? Sabien offers a free non-judgemental service to guide you to reach your goals. For more info you can reach Sabien here. 

In this e-pānui Sabien is sharing this free anonymous quiz to see if your drinking may be putting your well-being at risk. If you’ve been worried about your drinking, taking this test can be a good start. Testing yourself does not always provide an accurate answer, but it can help you decide what you want to do next.

Our phenomenal Community Nurse, Juanita, is able to offer a range of services & referrals including to NMDHB dental services (this removes the barrier of needing to see GP for referral) & all services are free.

Juanita would like to share info on vaccine protection and eligibility with you. Flu & COVID-19 vaccinations in particular at the moment. The latest information on the availability of these is accessible here. 

Juanita is working on community-based vaccination clinic in the near future. When we can share info about that we'll post on our social media channels. 

Thanks to our friends from the Care Foundation she has a beautiful clinic space in which to meet local people. Get in touch with Juanita to find out more or if you have a query about a specific service. 

Our Victory on the Move Community Activities programme for term two, 2026 is out now! As always, we have some new activities and a selection of old favourites.

We're stoked that the amazing Caren Shrubshall will be returning to run Theatre Play & Teen Improv to the Centre on Monday afternoons in term two. Playful, interactive and fun, small group drama sessions for youth running from the 4th of May to the 29th of June (Not 1 June). Theatre Play: 3.30-4.30pm (8-11yo) Teen Improv: 4.30-5.30pm (12-14yo) The cost is $35 for 8 weeks or $7 casual rate. Limited group size, first session $5; NB ages are approx. Explore your creative side and skills through drama games and physical theatre. Focus is on confidence, connection, creativity and fun. Non-profit. For info and bookings email: Caren.  

It will be so cool to have the amazing Kimberley Anderson back in the Centre for African Drumming Workshops during term two and three. The workshops happen on a Thursday evening from 7.15pm – 8.45pm. Come and get your groove on in a safe, supportive and fun environment. The one-off drop-in session is designed to take things slow and to allow people to give African drumming a try.  Explore the drums, and ease into some groovy rhythms - a great thing for your mind, body and spirit. Check out those dates & more info through the link here.

There’s also a InRhythm NZ facebook group where you can check the other things happening in this amazing little community of drummers. 

We love hosting our friends from Nelson Bays Primary Health and English Language Partners Nelson for their free Wellness @ VCC programme. Odette and the crew will be back in term two on Wednesdays. These sessions help improve health, to connect with others, and feel a sense of belonging in a supportive community. The programme will run from the 6th May to the 24th of June. Interpreters will be available. Phone 0800 731 317 for more info. Enrol here. Everyone is welcome!

You can find more info on these and all of our other activities on the Victory on the Move flyer here or by clicking on the image below.

As always we'll have lots more happening. Stay tuned to our social media pages for updates on Taoist Tai Chi, Tea & Talk, Psychodrama, Embroidery and all the other fabulous activities.

We are absolutely delighted with the new AED we have in the cabinet outside the Community Centre front door. AEDs are crucial life saving devices and this new unit, available 24 hours a day, replaces the ten-year-old AED that was previously only available during our opening hours. Early defibrillation from a bystander can more than double a person's chance of survival during cardiac arrest. 

Massive thanks to our friends at Hato Hone St John and the anonymous donor who has paid for the unit. We will partner with Hato Hone St John to another 3 Steps for Life training session here at the Centre to increase local people's confidence in using this equipment. Let us know by email if you're interested in a free one hour hands-on first aid training session that includes how to use an AED. Check out the story that featured in the Nelson Weekly recently about the new device here or through the image below. 

Our fabulous Community Navigator, Norma, facilitated a community conversation a couple of weeks ago about keeping our young people safe on the roads. Recently, there have been concerns about a number of young people driving before they are legally allowed. We know that there are families that are still learning about NZ road rules, and sometimes misunderstandings can create serious risks.

Parents and young people were warmly invited to attend. Interpreters were available for the dozens of whānau who came along to the hui.  This was not about blaming anyone. It was about: Keeping our children safe, Understanding NZ driving laws, learning about risks and consequences & supporting families with clear information. If you would like to get in touch about this topic or have a question, email Norma.

Lots of action in our Community Garden as always, much mulching, composting and planting has been happening. Many thanks as always to all the amazing volunteers who contribute their time and energy to help in the Māra Kai. There will be some changes to the way we will run the working bees through the winter months. The next working bee will be on Monday the 20th of April and from then on through the next few months they will happen on a fortnightly basis. 

We are delighted to have Robin Goetzke and the team from Change Real Estate sponsor our mahi in the community garden. When we spoke about sponsorship Robin was excited when he heard the opportunity to support the garden, the vision of a place for people to grow together, not only kai, but community connections and knowledge too. Here he is with Nadia, our Community Kai Coordinator, in front of the waharoa / gateway into the Māra Kai. A massive thank you to Robin and the team for supporting this important mahi.

Nadia recently hosted a morning tea to kōrero with some of the English Language Partners learners about their mahi in the community garden. It is awesome to work with them on the community garden and great to talk about the different plants and crops that the learners enjoy growing. 

It has been quite a challenging time for Nadia in the garden recently. She has spent much more time than she would have liked staring down into this massive water tank rather than working in the garden with the amazing folks who come along to help. There have been a few issues relating to irrigation as well as our mulcher breaking down that have monopolised her time and diverted her away from the Māra. We appreciate you Nadia and all of the mahi you put into the garden.

We're pleased to be involved in the TUKU Whakatū Festival once again and we will be hosting our amazing friends from the Tangata Tiriti Aotearoa Whakatū crew for their event Tangata Tiriti Stories on Sunday the 19th of April. Come to hear the experience of tangata tiriti and their journey to finding their turangawaewae, their place to stand in Aotearoa. Join others for afternoon tea followed by an informal debrief, an opportunity for people to share casually how the talks may have highlighted similarities for other people’s own life experiences. Check out the rest of the amazing series of TUKU events here on the website. 

Delighted to be hosting two community wellbeing workshops on the 13th and 20th of May. They're being run by our friends from Nelson Bays Primary Health. The first will be on managing thoughts and feelings, stress and anxiety and understanding mood. The second will be on grief, conflict management and personal boundaries. There will be kai and a cuppa to enjoy. Register by heading along to this booking form.