South Grafton kids set to rub shoulders with Batman

Masked crusader waiting for lucky locals heading to Queensland for once in a lifetime trip

The staff and kids of Camellia Cottage. Picture: Tim Jarrett

OVER 40 kids from South Grafton are set to rub shoulders with the likes of Batman and Scooby Doo thanks to a sizeable donation.

Camellia Cottage in South Grafton have decided to take the lucky kids to Movie World on the Gold Coast early next year after receiving $10,000 from the Grafton District Services club in September.

The community hub has been providing after school care to hundreds of children over the years and coordinator Amanda Stacey said already everyone was excited for the trip at the end of the Christmas school holidays.

Ms Stacey said the opportunity to head to QLD was good way to keep the current crop of kids engaged as it acted as an incentive for them to participate in their after school programs.

It also offered many kids the an opportunity to travel somewhere they may not otherwise have gone.

"When they are engaging they are not out running amok and getting into mischief,” she said.

"A lot of the kids are lucky to have gone to Coffs Harbour let alone to a theme park or out of state.”

In addition to the trip, Camellia Cottage had invested the money into renovating their floors as they were "past the point of being able to scrub back and look clean”.

Despite being awarded the GDSC community grant, Ms Stacey said finding funding was a common struggle which often took up much of her time.

"Those funds, especially the GDSC one, are like the glue that glues everything together.

"But it is a bit stressful because at the moment my funding runs out in April.”

Nevertheless, the cottage situated in the heart of South Grafton would continue to provide its after-school and community services which Ms Stacey said were underutilised.

She stressed they were open to anyone in the community and had a number of computers and a suite of information which could be used for free by anyone in the area.

They also had another meeting space which could be used for other community groups to utilise.

"We are in the hub of all the activity and the community know that this is a safe place.”

They would also be hosting their annual Christmas Party on November 30, with a free community barbecue a long with a range of activities for adults and kids alike.

"We get a great turnout for that each year - even Santa comes along,” she said.

Camellia Cottage at 3 Camellia Way is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays open from 930 to 5 with after school care from 3pm-5pm.

Originally published as South Grafton kids set to rub shoulders with Batman