U3A Projecting Big Things
Published on 09 September 2022
Members of the Benalla and District U3A are seeing the bigger picture thanks to Benalla Rural City Council’s installation of a new projector at the Benalla Senior Citizens Community Centre.
Benalla and District U3A President Margaret Jenkins said the projector would benefit all users of the Centre.
“This is a fantastic addition to the facility, and one that will help see the building used to its fullest potential,” Mrs Jenkins said.
“In our grant application to Council we highlighted a number of ways we could see a projector being used here, not only by us but by the Senior Citizens, Bridge Club and other users of the building.
“At our Meet and Mingle events we usually have 60 to 70 people attend and have a guest speaker who often wants to show a series of slides or other visual media to complement their talk.
“With the installation of this overhead projector we are now able to offer a visual means of complementing the guest speaker's talk while also being able to better accommodate the large number of members that come along.
“Another important reason for getting an overhead projector in the auditorium, is to show movies during extreme heat days, when the centre is opened as a place of refuge for our older community members and we now have a way to keep everyone entertained.”
The U3A group were successful in applying for a $2,500 Community Grant in 2021 and Council decided to double the funding to $5,000 to ensure the best equipment could be purchased.
“I’d like to thank Benalla Rural City Council on behalf of Benalla and District U3A for supporting this application, we are very grateful and will be putting it to use straight away,” Mrs Jenkins said.
Benalla Rural City Council Mayor Bernie Hearn said it was an easy decision to firstly support the grant application and then increase the funding.
“Once we realised this projector would be an asset not only to Council but to so many community members that use the Senior Citizens Centre, we decided to support the purchase of the most suitable equipment for the space,” Cr Hearn said.
“It is great to see community groups like U3A bouncing back after a difficult couple of years, and to hear that they are getting 60 to 70 people attend their events is great. If they need to meet in the auditorium rather than a meeting room, we want to support that as best we can.”
The first official event to putting the new projector to use will be a digital literacy workshop titled “Get Online” during Seniors’ Week on Wednesday 19 October, presented by the Benalla and District U3A.
Image (L-R): Elise Wood, Benalla Rural City Council Facilities Coordinator was on hand to train, Margaret Jenkins, Benalla and District U3A President, and Geraldine McCorkell (Secretary) in operation of the new overhead projector.