News & Events
Raising awareness for homeless persons
As part of National Homeless Persons week the Family Services Team held a barbeque and information stall at Centrelink Palmerston, to raise awareness of this increasing problem. The barbeque was well attended and gave Somerville staff an opportunity to provide information to the public on the various programs and assistance we can provide. Somerville’s Community…
Our annual golf day
Each year Somerville organises a number of social activities. These events help contribute to the family atmosphere and enjoyable work environment. This in turn reflects in a dedicated professional workforce with the ultimate outcome of a high standard of service provided to clients and service users. Recently staff took part in the “Annual Golf Day”.…
Somerville welcomes a special visitor
Lin Hatfield Dodds, National Director of UnitingCare Australia was recently in the Top End and spent some time with Somerville Staff, Management and Board. As a regular visitor to Somerville, we always look forward to not only Lin’s company, but her thoughts and views on social and economic issues relating to children, young people, families…
Australasian Reporting Awards
An Annual Report not only helps Somerville communicate its activities and accomplishments during the past year but it also recognises special people including staff, donors and volunteers. Although the objective is not to receive awards, awards do provide an opportunity for Somerville to benchmark its report against National and International criteria and in turn achieve…
Seniors Expo
Somerville Community Services staff attended Darwin’s very first Seniors Expo, held on the lawns of the Museum & Art Gallery of the NT. Staff manned one of 30 stalls at the Expo and provided handouts and information to seniors on our services and programs. The Expo was such a success that organisers are considering holding it…
Donation from Nicole ManisonMLA, Member for Wanguri
Local parliamentary member for Wanguri, Nicole Manison MLA, kindly donated a voucher towards the purchase of items for the fun and fitness event at Lake Alexander as part of the City of Darwin Disability Awareness Festival. Photo: Somerville Manager Allison O’Connor and Administrative clerk Jessica Anglesey with Nicole Manison MLA.
Deckchair Cinema Fundraiser Stall
The City of Darwin Disability Awareness Festival aims to promote access to all community events for people with a disability. One of the events was at the Deckchair Cinema. Somerville staff prepared cakes and sweets and made them available on the night to raise money for Disability Services. Photo: Somerville Managers Kerry Boswell, Bonnie Solly and Allison…
Somerville Sunday – Uniting Church Palmerston
Partnered with the Uniting Church of Palmerston, Somerville Community Services recently coordinated the annual Somerville Sunday Service. The service was well attended by the church congregation, Somerville staff and their families. Somerville CEO Vicki O’Halloran spoke at the event, sharing the Somerville story and detailing the wide range of work undertaken by our staff. The congregation…
Work Health Safety Q&A morning tea
As part of Somerville’s strong commitment to providing a safe workplace for our staff and clients, we recently held a Work Health Safety Q&A morning tea. Facilitated by our Assets Infrastructure & Maintenance Manager Skye Lee, we focused on raising awareness of safety in the workplace. It also provided a great opportunity for staff to…
Dancing with the Celebrities Gala Ball
Last Friday, Total Recreation held their major annual fundraising event, a gala ball themed “Dancing with the Celebrities.” Total Recreation is a Not for Profit organisation that assists people with disabilities to participate in leisure and recreational activities. The event showcased local celebrities partnered with talented dancers. Somerville is proud to be a platinum sponsor of…
Launch of Somerville Christmas Hamper Appeal
Each year Somerville conducts a Christmas Hamper Appeal collecting donations of nonperishable food. The food is then packaged to make several hundred Christmas food hampers. One of our biggest donors is The Essington School community. Last Friday (16th of October) our staff attended their assembly to launch our Christmas Hamper Appeal. It is estimated that…
National Anti-Poverty Week
As part of National Anti-Poverty Week Somerville Family Services staff presented school talks to 500 middle school children in the Darwin and Palmerston areas focusing on the effects of poverty and the healthy decision making that leads to more successful and healthy futures. Each student was provided with a ‘goodie bag’ consisting of Somerville information,…
The Northern Territory Young Achiever Awards officially launched for 2016
The purpose of the Northern Territory Young Achiever Awards is to acknowledge, encourage and promote the positive achievements of young Territorians. Somerville has been involved in these awards for many years and we are proud to be able to recognise the great work that young people are doing in the community through the Community Service…
Somerville Manager wins NT Telstra Business Women’s Category Award
Somerville Disability Services, Service Development Manager, Deborah Bampton recently won the 2015 Telstra NT Business Woman of the Year Category “For Purpose and Social Enterprise.” Deborah is responsible for Somerville’s training and development program, the planning, developing and co-ordination of a social integration program and all the administrative functions of Disability Services program. In her…
Splashfest Water Safety Week
Splashfest is an annual event that kicks off a Water Safety Week, a week of activities focused on creating awareness about safety in, around and on the water. This year’s event was held at the waterfront and there were loads of free family fun activities and entertainment, including NT Water Safety mascot Boof the Barra.…
