By Danielle Kutchel
Excited participants from The Bridge Connects in Berwick have helped Casey mayor Amanda Stapledon to complete her Walk for Disability.
On Thursday 19 September participants from The Bridge joined Cr Stapledon as she walked through Berwick.
The Bridge raised $275 for Cr Stapledon’s cause through an in-house sausage sizzle.
Cindy Warren, Transition to Employment manager at The Bridge Employment, said Cr Stapledon greeted each participant with a hug.
“She took the time to get to know each of them individually by name, asking them what their work goals are and personal interests.
“The guys were so excited … she was kind of a rockstar!”
Lucky Lamprell, who lives in Noble Park, said she was excited to join the mayor and see some of the sights of the City of Casey.
As a participant in The Bridge’s Jobs Now program, she is working to develop her employment skills and independence.
Similarly, Shourav Sharif said he was looking forward to the walk and felt that The Bridge had helped him to become independent.
The Bridge was one of 43 community organisations that Cr Stapledon visited during her walk.
Cr Stapledon clocked up around 120 kilometres over the nine day walk, which raised funds for the Wolfdene Foundation’s Project 28 initiative.
Project 28 seeks to address the shortfall of over 28,000 households Australia wide for people living with a disability who are still in the care of their ageing parents or carers. It aims to create 28 supported accommodation units by 2028 to give those residents their ‘forever home’, and the peace of mind that comes with that.
Some of the developments for Project 28 will be in the City of Casey.
