Touchstone Volume 25 (Autumn) | Page 18

NEWS IN BRIEF Farewell    from Geoff Trappett After a great 7 years with CPL, it’s time to move on to a new adventure and challenge. Obviously with such a huge change comes many conflicting emotions; I have enjoyed my time with CPL immensely, ensuring    we as an organisation were providing quality services that enabled people with a disability to participate fully in the life of the society in which they lived. With the NDIS now rolling out, the sector and community at large is going through once in a generational change both in terms of how services are provided and Wheely making a change how people with disability are viewed and included in society. My passion has always and will always lie in social justice and inclusion principles. To that end, I have decided to make the jump to creating an organisation called Inclusion Moves. Inclusion Moves purpose is to give people with a disability the skills they need to ensure they are able to enact their full citizenship rights like any other. Uncomplicated social inclusion means a healthy Australian society for all and it’s something I’m really passionate about. We’re aiming to raise $200,000 to support our Let’s Talk program, which provides people with complex communication needs the opportunity and support to communicate with the world    around     them. We currently run Let’s Talk Days   and     Camp Have a Chat in Cairns, Brisbane, Rockhampton and Townsville, but there     is      a growing need for this program to     be accessible to more children and their families across the state. Assistive communication devices are expensive and can cost tens of thousands of dollars, so it is not practical or possible    for families to buy multiple devices. That’s why our Let’s Talk program is so important; it allows people to test and trial devices first, to make sure that they find the device that suits them best. 18 Touchstone Autumn 2017 Diary Every individual or team has a fundraising target of $5,000 because that is how much it costs to ensure a family can attend CPL’s Let’s Talk program. All money raised will go towards ensuring that people with complex communication needs can access the support and equipment they need to find their voice. It’s easy to get involved! Simply email CPL’s Fundraising Executive, Amy Rymer, on [email protected] to find out more or nominate someone you know! I found during my time that there is a mutual respect from CPL, that clients are the experts in their own life experiences, and from clients that CPL will provide professional support which has been refined over years of quality service delivery. This is just one of the long lasting memories I’ll be taking with me. DIARY We’re looking for business leaders who want to make a difference to the lives of people with complex communication needs. Do you know anyone who could lend their voice? CPL’s Wheel Make a Change campaign   has just launched and we’re looking for champion CEO’s, business and community leaders to take part. There are many things I’ll miss about CPL, one of which is how dedicated staff are to working together to problem solve and find the best solutions for clients. 2017 March 24 Launch event for Wheel Make a Change May 1 14 Labour Day public holiday Mother’s Day April 14 15-16 Good Friday Live Large Festival! 16 Easter Sunday 17 Easter Monday Touchstone Autumn 2017 19