SJOS VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES / FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
The SJOS Volunteers have continued to be very busy supporting the various SJOS activities. In the Food Store, extra time is now required to ensure that the area is set up to ensure appropriate self-distancing. Chairs are placed strategically apart outside the entrance and PPE is available for volunteers and visitors. Several volunteers have offered their suggestions and as a result, the store has a new procedure in place to ensure that a healthy distance is maintained between visitor and volunteer. Getting supplies of certain products have been challenging, but it is hoped that once the second wave of panic buying is over, the distributors will be able to provide the basic food products for which the SJOS Food Store is known. The Bread Bank volunteers are all continuing to engage and the supply of bread, although variable at times, is still providing the service needed.
The SJOS Garden Club holds monthly meetings at the garden. The south wall garden, on which they found a handball game drawn, has been cleared, with debris discarded amounting to 2 van trips to the Stonnington Transfer station. The work in progress is to establish three garden beds to plant fruit trees and vegetables. Bags of parsley and several herbs have been harvested for the Food store, pea straw has been spread over the garden and peas and coriander planted. Recently, the group discussed the use of the seed table and it was decided to try growing silverbeet from seeds. The new compost bin is now in use and everyone is encouraged to compost their vegetable scraps. Bec Nichols from Stonnington Council has been in discussion with the group regarding the overall garden strategy to see if help from the Council’s Environment Sustainability Team can be provided. They will assist in finding someone in the community with horticultural skills interested in volunteering and assisting so an advertisement for the July Stonnington "Environmental News and Events" was developed to start the search.