Carers support organisation, The Watton Group, celebrated their 10th anniversary late last month.
Held at Central Park Community Centre in Hoppers Crossing, the group held a morning tea with Indigenous cultural performances to commemorate their first decade in existence.
Wyndham mayor Jennie Barrera and representatives from Carers Victoria, and Tandem Carers were also there to mark the occasion, the significance of which wasn’t lost on Watton Group facilitator, Patricia Tot.
“It’s a big achievement, a major achievement,” Ms Tot said.
“When we started in 2014 we only had five people and now we’ve got 28 members.”
The Watton Group are a not-for-profit organisation that supports carers in Wyndham, offering them a place to socialise, relax, meet like minded people and share information.
“From the feedback I’ve received, we are one of a kind in Wyndham,” said Ms Tot of the impact the group have made since 2014.
She said the 10th anniversary was particularly important given that period included the dark days of the pandemic.
“We survived Covid by doing online zoom meetings and trivia so we kept the connection,” said Ms Tot of how they got through that difficult period.
Ms Tot made a speech at the celebration, before a performance by First Nations artists and then a celebratory cake provided by an esteemed guest.
“The mayor, she surprised us, she helped serve the cake to everybody,” said Ms Tot of Cr Barrera’s gesture.
As for the next decade of the Watton Group, Ms Tot wasn’t looking that far ahead.
“Oh my god that’s a long way away. Maybe five years,” she laughed.
Cade Lucas.
