21ST BIRTHDAY: Congratulations to Byanca Curl who celebrated her 21st birthday on Monday, December 9. Byanca enjoyed a beautiful birthday dinner with her sister Symmone, brother James and his partner Tiffany Erickson and their lovable son Hudson, Bailey Lawler and other friends at the Railway Hotel. She also enjoyed and shared two lovely birthday cakes as well. Celebrations continued Saturday evening at her home where her extended family and many friends were on hand to ensure a wonderful evening. COUNTRY EDUCATION FOUNDATION: The Grenfell CWA Evening Branch presented a cheque for $400 to the CEF Grenfell during their recent fundraising meeting at the Railway. The group thanked the branch saying "Thank you for your generous donation. It is through organisations such as yours that enable CEF Grenfell to assist the youth of the Weddin Shire with further education costs." CWA Publicity Officer Deidre Carroll presented the cheque to Grenfell President Clemence Matchett and fundraising committee Belinda Mawhinney, Courtney Taylor, Kathy Garland and James Ingrey. CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON: The Combined Grenfell Churches will be hosting a luncheon for those who will be on their own over Christmas. The luncheon will be held in the Salvation Army Hall at 12 noon with dinner being served at 12.30pm. If you are on your own over the Christmas period and would like to attend call Roy on 0435919208 or Barbara 0400673854 by Thursday December 19. Alternatively, return your invitation to the person/church where you received it GRENFERLL PRE-SCHOOL: Saving the Koalas: Aiden had watched a koala being rescued on the news and when there was smoke in the air, he made sure he wore his fireman's outfit to preschool to be the Chief Fireman. While they were at morning tea, they had a talk about the news, so they looked it up on the iPad and everyone was very concerned for the koalas. They all wanted to help. The koalas were being burnt, injured and some even died. They put their thinking caps on. After seeing the hurt Koalas, the children of the Star Room have been concerned. They wanted to help them by sending them water, bandages and new blankets to the hospital. Some even suggested they plant new trees, so the Koalas have some food to eat as they only eat eucalyptus leaves and most of their food supplies have been destroyed. It sparked plenty of meaningful discussions and even some tears of concern. We need to help!!! The children decided to hold a "Loose Change Fundraiser: Let's Save Our Koalas" so we can send it to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital to purchase new bedding, bandages and other supplies - they need to keep these little Koalas alive. They are going to ask the hospital that a portion of the money raised goes to their program of replanting trees which they indicated takes $15 to plant one new tree for the future Koalas to enjoy Their first goal was $130 which they had achieved by the second day. The staff talked to the children and it was suggested they aim to raise $402 for the Koalas. Everyone was on a mission collecting from grandmas, pops, mums, dads, big siblings and taking loose change from behind the cushions. After reading this statement: "The chairman of the Australian Koala Foundation, Deborah Tabart, estimates that over 1000 Koalas have been killed from the fires and that 80 percent of their habitat has been destroyed. Recent bushfires, along with prolonged drought and deforestation has led to Koalas becoming functionally extinct according to experts. Functional extinction is when a population becomes so limited that they no longer play a significant role in their ecosystem and the population becomes no longer viable. While some individuals could reproduce, the limited number of Koalas makes the long-term viability of the species unlikely and highly susceptible to disease." (Forbes, 23/11/19) What a sad day for one of our national icons! Extinction! Just like the dinosaurs! Sharon Grant Director, of the Grenfell Preschool and Long Day Care Centre said "But we can try to reverse it! Our families of all the rooms of Grenfell Preschool and Long Day Care all dug deep. Our campaign even reached Caragabal and Quandialla Public Schools along with the Weddin Mobil Services. We were amazed at the amount of loose change coming in each day. Our biggest highlight was when MP Steph Cooke came to the centre and donated money towards our fundraising efforts. We have successfully raised $721.60 and the Grenfell Preschool and Long Day Care donated enough to bring us up to a grand total of $800. We are so happy. Port Macquarie Koala Hospital was our charity of choice. With this money we as a group decided to adopt 5 koalas and purchase 20 new trees and the rest we made as a contribution to the upkeep of medical needs for the burnt koalas still needing care. We are very proud of ourselves and our families amazing efforts." BAG A BARGAIN: Declutter your clothing over the Christmas break. In 2020 Grenfell Voices Against Violence will be holding the annual 'Bag a Bargain' event and once again need the community's support. We are hoping to encourage everyone to declutter their wardrobes over Christmas and drop off unwanted clothing to Grenfell Community Health after January 6, 2020. For more information contact Community Health on 6349 1750 COMING EVENTS: Weddin Whispers: If you have any social news you wish to have published in the Record please contact me on 6343 1574 or 0403 480 729 or by email at carrollt@tpg.com.au News of special occasions (weddings, anniversaries and birthdays), holidays, visitors, new babies and achievements of family and friends would be greatly appreciated. Information should be brief and concise and good quality photos (with names) of any occasions will also be accepted. Copy/ photos to be published Friday must be received by Tuesday afternoon prior. Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information.