July: Month in Review

GO Admin
Aug 1
4 min read

Welcome to the July round up everyone! We've got a lot to cover, so let's get straight into it!

Disability Pride Month

In yet another action-packed month, the biggest news of July was of course: Disability Pride Month!

Disability Pride Month is a time each year to celebrate the achievements, identities, and contributions of people with disability to our communities. It is a time of joy, community, and strength — making space for people to express who they are, share their stories, and be seen and celebrated for all they bring. Throughout July, we embraced this spirit across our programs, celebrating individuality and the diverse experiences that make our community stronger. But of course, we had to go all out too!

From Monday the 7th, to Friday the 11th of July, the GO Again Op Shop Volunteers took the week off, and the store was taken over by GO Participants! The Op Shop Takeover saw our crew running the register, sorting donations, creating displays and connecting with our wonderful customers. The energy, smiles and confidence on display showed just how much our participants had to offer, and Seymour well and truly showed up to support us! Thank you to everyone who came to visit, shop and donate during the week -- each day of the takeover, the shop outsold its sales records!!!

The funds raised during the week -- as is always the case with any purchase made at GO Again -- will go directly towards improving our programs and facilities, including new equipment and community access initiatives that help participants keep building skills, independence and connection.

We'd also like to give a special thanks to Programs Team Leader Kacie Graham, and Op Shop Coordinator Deb Williamson, as well as all the staff and volunteers involved in making the week such a huge success.

Awesome effort everyone -- and Happy Disability Pride!

Biggest Life Possible Awards

Another fantastic achievement of our organisation this month was the roll out of our Biggest Life Possible Awards!

These awards are designed to highlight the amazing work of our staff in line with our Biggest Life Possible Mission and 5 Quality Pillars: Quality of Life, Quality Employment, Quality Practice, Quality Business and Quality Community.

This month we had close to 20 nominations! It was a huge task to whittle these down to just a small few, but we think this group ultimately encapsulates the values and excellence we strive for everyday at GO.

A heartfelt congratulations to our winners:

1. Tiffany G - Quality Practice

2. Kevin F - Quality Employment

3. Michelle T - Quality Employment

4. Charity L - Quality of Life

5. Erin M - Quality of Life

General Manager, Megan with Quality of Life Winner Erin

CEO Debbie with Quality Employment Winner Michelle

Bowling

One of the big highlights at GO lately has been bowling! So many participants have been heading up to Shepparton during programs to hit the lanes, cheer each other on, and enjoy some healthy competition. It’s been a fantastic way to build skills, confidence, and friendships — and most importantly, have a great time together. We love seeing the joy on everyone’s faces each week as they improve their scores and celebrate each other’s wins.

Mitchell Shirt hArt Exhibition

This year, over 23 GO artists submitted an artwork to Mitchell Shire's annual hArt Exhibition. Our participants had a fantastic time attending the opening on the 25th of July, mingling with other creative members of our community and celebrating each other's work.

An especial congratulations goes out to participant Samantha W -- her artwork was one of the three winners in the Youth Category!!

Continuous Improvement at GO

July marks the beginning of a new financial year at GO. The Leadership Team has spent quality time together this month reviewing the year just gone, reflecting on the many changes and improvements made in the last 12 months, and looking ahead to the future.

This month the team has developed a new annual plan aligned with GO's Biggest Life Possible Quality Pillars which will keep our organisation progressing towards our goals. We also began planning for the upcoming AGM -- more on this soon, stay tuned! And we published our Q4 continuous improvement report to share our efforts with our community.

Read the report here:

In July, we also began the rollout of our new Human Resources Management System: Employment Hero! This system will improve the way our 60+ person workforce is managed, streamline internal processes, and keep our team focused on our strategic goals by reducing a large amount of admin work. We were very excited to begin communications with staff this month, and can't wait to see the program up and running.