February 2024
Welcome to February, this month was jam packed!
Geelong Disability Expo - Our first one ever!
In the last week of February we were proud to attend our very first Disability Expo!
The atmosphere inside Geelong arena was full of excitement, with many support companies offering different services for people with disabilities such as individual support (like us), assistance technology and allied health services, to name just a few. Over the two days we had the whole management team at our stall to discuss our individual reasons for doing this work and what we can offer the community. We were very happy with how our stall turned out and got to display some amazing art by one of our participants Sean Flynn. See pics below:
What makes The Companion Group different?
This is a question we got many times over the expo and I have to say my answer was always: “Availability of a big service provider, quality service of a small one”. As The Companion Group has grown over the years it’s remained our focus to provide all our participants with an office team they know, with support workers they choose, and we were proud to talk about this at the expo. We met so many lovely people across the two days including people with disabilities, community members, Support Coordinators, Occupational Therapists, and chats with other neighbouring support organisations about why we are all so passionate about supporting people with disabilities. We also got a couple of special visits from a few of our wonderful participants, see the pics below:
Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Project
One of the things we are most proud of during our time at the Disability Expo is our partnership with the hidden disabilities sunflower project. Many people across Australia live with a hidden disability. These people may need extra support out in the community which often goes unnoticed. The hidden disabilities project aims to bring awareness to hidden disabilities by getting those affected to wear the sunflower. The staff of organisations such as V/Line, West Field shopping centres and Melbourne Airport are being trained to recognise the sunflower and know how to ask those people if they need help. At our stall, many people recognised the sunflower and told us about their stories of hidden disability. We were very proud to give away lanyards at the expo featuring the sunflower to anyone who needed one or knew some one who could benefit.
Participant Highlight
Another highlight of the expo was watching one of our participants, Kane, rock it out on stage! Kane is an extraordinary young man who has not let his vision impairment get in the way of his goals, including developing his electric guitar skills and performing in front of a crowd. It was such a delight to see Kane’s joy as he got cheers from the crowd after each song.
Manuka Plants
We were very proud to be distributing a manuka plant to everyone who visited our booth over the expo.
The Companion Group’s primary mission is to deliver an excellent level of support to the Geelong disability community, however, we also have a passion for the environment and having a positive impact on the ecosystem.
This is why we chose 100% biodegradable native seeds and soil to give out in place of plastics, pens and other things often tossed away after expos.
If planted, all 250 saplings will mature in the next 3-5 years, storing hundreds of kilos of carbon, produce roughly a ton of oxygen and allow native bee populations to thrive.
Did you pick up a plant? We would love to see it’s progress. Email pictures through to info@thecompaniongroup.org.
We cannot wait to attend the 2025 Geelong Disability Expo next year and hope to see you there!