Sale Tennis Club opened its arms to a large group of seasonal workers from the Pacific Islands, sharing a traditional Christmas lunch with all of the trimmings on Sunday 21 December.
The seasonal workers from Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, TImor-Leste, Vanuatu and Indonesia are in Australia for up to 9 months at a time, as part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.
In an effort to bring a sense of inclusion and community to those away from their families at such a special time of year, Sale Tennis Club hosted the lunch, and a hit of tennis - ably run with the help of our junior club members on court.
Committee members, led by Life Member Karen Deschepper, did a sensational job of putting together a gift hamper for each of the 35 workers.
For the PALM workers who couldn't make the lunch, there were meals boxed up and sent to be enjoyed later.
A big shout out to the Club volunteers who helped out: Karen Deschepper, Sonya Stephenson, Di Arnot, Belinda Webb, Joan and Robin Lowe, Kellie and Elena Lazzaro, Rob Tatterson, Lucas and Lawrence Zhang, Katrina and Seb Jones, Peter Lowe and Jason Yap. Without their strong community spirit and devotion to people other than themselves the whole event would not have been possible.
We were also helped out by Sporting Legends who cooked the 3 huge legs of pork supplied by Ranfords Family Butcher. Not only did Sporting Legends cook the pork they carved it ready to serve and provided the gravy. We really appreciate their support.
As an extension of the ongoing support of the PALM seasonal workers the Club has undertaken to provide support to a school on the island of Pentecost in Vanuatu.
The school is located in the village where local PALM worker Uri Moli’s wife was born and raised. Uri has been most excited to provide the initial contact details and to get the program started.
The Club is collecting donations of goods such as children’s books, stationery, clothing, sporting goods, etc. suitable for use in the school and surrounding village.
This is an opportunity for the Club to make a significant difference to a group of people who are far less fortunate. Donations are being accepted at the Club on an ongoing basis. Please drop off whatever goods you can and, if you don’t have goods, a cash donation would go toward funding a much needed water tank at the school.