
Awesome Newcastle October cooks up a storm!
Another Awesome Newcastle came and went on Wednesday night featuring a cozy crowd of folks who want to see good things happen in the community.
We welcomed first time guest board member Tim Cush of Doc’s Pharmacy and returning guest board members Tim Cox of Sage Marketing and Dan Farthing of Pitcrew.
Our finalists this month were Tiran Evans of Callaghan Campus Jesmond, James Cottam of Salon De Refuse and Jay Winter of The Tribe.
Tiran went first. He explained that the support unit at Callaghan College Jesmond provides specialized education and care for 30 students with intellectual and physical disabilities and his goal was to provide student with practical cooking skills. He wants to engage students in hands-on cooking activities and also work with local markets to incorporate fresh, local ingredients. The cooking program would teach students to cook healthy, tasty meals for themselves and their families. He would use the money to buy cooking equipment and bring in cooking professionals to lead some classes.
James went next. He explained that Salon de Refuse is a self curated Exhibition cum Art Swap where a location for hanging people’s found, saved or unwanted art is provided in a public location. Anyone can hang their found or unwanted art, or just turn up and take something they like. He has already run them in Sydney and he has been in conversation with Bernies Bar in Newcastle to set one up in their laneway on Devonshire Street. As their focus is on environmental reuse, he would try to use off-cuts from previous installations. Remaining funds would purchase the strings and hooks required with the system.
Last but not least was Jay. Jay is passionate about making people around him feel good and he has established “The Tribe” in Newcastle. He explained it is a community of 50 people, and each fortnight they gather as a group and engage in connection sessions, activities, education around mental health, nutrition and positive psychology. He would use the money to pay for an tribe event at a surf club.
The board discussed and debated for quite some time, and at last they reached a decision. Tim Cox came up to announce the winner and he passed the money to Tiran!
Congratulations, Tiran! We can’t wait to see what you get cooking with those kids! Thanks to all our awesome applicants and generous board members. We’ll see you next time for Awesome Newcastle, and keep in mind it will be the last one of the year, so it’s open to the public! Maybe you’ll come along?!