Lifestyle St Leonards residents show how to integrate yourself into a new community  

When entering a new village, a good way to put yourself at ease is to join a committee that helps the local community as it broadens ties with like-minded people.

Lifestyle St Leonards – The Waves social committee member Anne Kennedy said the donation was part of the residents’ aims to establish themselves in their new towns and make a positive impact.

“As a community, we’re all new to the area because we’ve moved into Lifestyle, we want to be part of the community and we want to contribute to the community,” she said.

Lifestyle Communities’ St Leonards – The Waves, in the township near Geelong, Victoria, opened in November last year. It is a 199-home land lease community.

The social committee hosted fundraising events and raffles realising there are people in a far worse situation.

Food Assist 3223, a charity covers Portarlington, St Leonards and Indented Head and provides pantry items, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and bakery items, dairy and meat, to local residents in need, for both short-term and long-term relief.

Volunteers run a weekly foodbank from Portarlington’s St Andrews Uniting Church every Wednesday from 1pm-3pm.

Food Assist has seen a 60% increase in the number of clients regularly accessing its food bank in the past 12 months, which it said was largely driven by the rising cost of living.

Lifestyle St Leonards social committee member Anne Kennedy said the group was pleased to make a difference.

“People are doing it so hard at the moment and it was our way of helping,” she said.

“Originally we offered them the money to buy blankets. They said to us we’ve actually got enough blankets but we still have to buy the food. So that’s where the money will go.”