The Hon. Dr Mike Kelly, Federal Member for Eden-Monaro, visited Monty’s Place, Narooma, on Saturday, 23 February to be briefed on the plan for an extension to the Uniting Church Hall where Monty’s Place holds its community lunch every Wednesday from 12-1.30pm. In August 2018 Monty’s Place, Narooma was invited by Dr Mike Kelly to submit an Expression of Interest to the Stronger Communities Grant Round 4: the start of a process which culminated in mid-January 2019 with advice that the Monty’s Place had been successful in winning a grant of $20,000 towards the extension.
The grant will enable Monty’s Place, to extend its venue (the Uniting Church Hall) to include a store room for the housing of kitchen supplies and equipment and a scullery which will house kitchenware and equipment used in the dining room, together with a commercial dishwasher. The extension will relieve congestion in the kitchen and dining room during service and provide a more amenable and safer environment for volunteers and guests. Dr Kelly said it had always been an inspiration to work with the Monty’s Place group and similar projects in other areas. He could see that the volunteers get as much out of working at Monty’s Place as the guests, and that Monty’s Place is a signal of the quality of the Narooma community. Dr Kelly said he was really inspired by the Monty’s Place committee’s plan for the use of this grant and looked forward to working closely with the committee as the project progresses. David Kelleher, the new Chair for the Monty’s Place Committee, thanked Dr Kelly for his support for Monty’s Place to obtain these funds and his offer to keep in touch during the project. Eurobodalla Shire Counsellor, Lindsay Brown also dropped by and gave his full support to Monty’s Place and to the project. Monty’s Place provides a nutritious and yummy meal and good company every Wednesday from 12-1.30pm at the Narooma Uniting Church Hall. Everyone is welcome and Monty’s is always looking for volunteers.
