Community on board as Warwick Protea Place prepares to open

As a much needed and anticipated community service prepares to open in the Rose City, the community has shown it has fully embraced the crucial hub for women. Read how here.

The Rose City community has fully embraced the fast-approaching launch of Protea Place as it prepares to open its Warwick branch in a matter of weeks.

To help get the crucial women's services hub up and running, Condamine Sports Club has donated $5000 with president Ross Bell saying it was a great cause and much needed project the community has fully gotten behind.

It’s a recent example of how the community has shown an incredible outpouring of support to help get the project off the ground.

In November, Protea Place CEO Amanda Dalton said a number of businesses had pledged free supplies and installation, and as of recently, volunteers from Warwick Killarney Uniting Church volunteers had spent hundreds of hours of construction and rebuilding the building.

Condamine Sports Club and Protea Place volunteers L-R: Gavin O’Leary, Steven Domjhan, Kathy Payne, Sue Campbell, Julie Gliori and Ross Bell. (Photo: Warwick Daily News)

Protea Place volunteer and counsellor Kathy Payne said the project was coming to the end of a very important phase and the volunteers were feeling excited and relieved to have something on the ground in due time.

“It’s come from across the community saying we want this and it’s been a real community effort to get it where it is now, it’s extremely encouraging and makes us confident that we can sustain this as it’s not just now, it will be into the future,” Ms Payne said.

“It was a big combination of the Uniting Church, Women’s Advocacy & Action Team, Zonta and individuals saying ‘wow we need this here,’ we knew the model would work in the Southern Downs,” fellow volunteer Sue Campbell said.

“I think Warwick needs a place where someone can walk beside someone in need, that’s the key, it’s having someone there to assist and can offer to walk through whatever difficulties they have.”

Warwick counsellor and Protea Place volunteer Kathy Payne (Photo: Warwick Daily News)

The building that Protea Place will move into was used by charitable organisation The Lighthouse since the 90s, and needed some TLC and renovations before it was suitable.

Mr Bell said the donation was just another example of the sports club’s ethos to support the community in Warwick, as the club was “only about local”.

“We support local and get really good support from the locals so that’s what we strive for,” Mr Bell said.

After first hearing about the project while at a charity golf day Mr Bell said he knew that it was something the club would get behind.

“It’s something that we need, and it’s not government funded, I like to think this is the catalyst for other community clubs and pubs in town to get behind it, most of them are community minded,” he said.

You can donate to Protea Place Warwick via their website. 

Originally published as Community on board as Warwick Protea Place prepares to open