Alyssa Fritzlaff
LATROBE Valley Enterprises (LVE) hosted a fun filled event on the International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD).
LVE, a local organisation that creates meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities, partnered with local services CoAbility, Maxima, and GippSport to celebrate on Friday, December 3.
Each year, LVE stages an event for IDPwD, in celebration of the the hard work put in each year by LVE staff.
A large barbecue was put on for all who attended, and it was a welcome social event coming out of a socially isolating time.
to celebrate the LVE employees and the
International Day of People with Disability. photograph alyssa fritzlaff
Latrobe StreetGames facilitated games of soccer and badminton on the day. Dem Lim and Amelia Evison from GippSport said StreetGames pop-up games exist to provide social sport opportunities.
“We also do Access for all Abilities, a program that provides sport and recreation opportunities to people with disability,” Ms Lim said.
“Sport gives the LVE guys important social interaction in the community,” LVE interim chief executive officer Suzanne Lewis said.
Ms Lewis and Mark MacManus from LVE are passionate about IDPwD, and feel it is an important day to celebrate.
“The event is to acknowledge the great work that our guys do for the community… it’s a little bit of fun and chance to chill out,” Ms Lewis said.
Maxima Morwell’s site manager Cassandra Carn was excited to be a part of the event.
“It’s about celebrating people with different abilities,” Ms Carn said.
Maxima is a recruitment, training and employment agency.
CoAbility community partnerships officer Ron D’Arcy said the event is also about different organisations in similar fields “coming together and connecting”.
CoAbility is a support service dedicated to helping people get the most out of their NDIS experience.
The event gives groups involved in the disability and jobs sector to support each other.
“It gets together like minded people,” he said.
The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended and offered an opportunity for light-hearted competitiveness and offered some much needed socialisation after a trying year.
