The Bellinger Valley VIEW Club met on Monday, September 16 at the Golf Club. Our Guest Speaker was Lynn Baker from "Canines for Wildlife", a husband, wife and son team of ecologists who train special dogs to sense out certain species of endangered wildlife so that they can be saved from extinction.
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The dogs are trained to be obedient and must be physically and mentally robust. They retrieve and hunt but do not destroy the wildlife, lying down or pointing when they find the right species through scent. Species which have been helped in this way are koalas, Bell's turtles and Montane Antechinus, a very small native mouse.
Our street stall on Saturday, September 14 was a great success. Our lucky winner of the raffle was Laurice Lavender. Thank you for your generous support. All money raised goes toward helping disadvantaged school children through The Smith Family.
VIEW provides women with the opportunity to meet regularly with other women, helping disadvantaged Australian children through the work of children's charity The Smith Family.
VIEW gather on the Sunshine Coast
More than 620 women were treated to a long weekend on the Queensland Sunshine Coast from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 September, for the VIEW Clubs of Australia National Convention.
"VIEW members proudly sponsor more than 1,380 students through the Learning for Life program by supporting their education, as well as volunteering, fundraising and advocating to improve the life outcomes of disadvantaged Australian children and young people."
Among the stellar line-up of guest speakers at the biennial convention was astrophysicist Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith, one of Australia's best-selling novelists Di Morrissey AM, the Sunshine Coast's most senior woman police officer Senior Sergeant Kim Cavell, and Dr Craig Challen OAM, the cave diver internationally renowned for rescuing 12 children and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand last year.
Delegates also heard from 19 year old Sunshine Coast musician Mason Hope. Raised by his grandmother Lisa from the age of 1, Mason shared how support from The Smith Family, changed the course of his life.
Astrophysicist and STEM Ambassador Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith wowed the women with her description of the wonders of the universe and the value of girls studying science. Best-selling author Di Morrissey AM shared how she'd wanted to be a writer from the age of 7, but she only began publishing novels in her forties.
Cave diver Dr Craig Challen, an Ambassador for The Smith Family, had women captivated by the story of how he and fellow Australian of the Year, Dr Richard Harris, rescued 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach from a cave in Thailand last year, against all odds. "My initial reaction was, that's impossible," he said.
Local Senior Sergeant Kim Cavell of Maroochydore Police Station told women about her difficult upbringing and how she'd not done well at school. Then she found someone who believed in her, and she went on to soar. Now she wants to see other young women follow in her footsteps.
VIEW stands for the Voice, Interests and Education of Women and is a national organisation boasting more than 15,000 members dedicated to supporting children's education charity The Smith Family.