Last Friday night the Illawarra Interagency (Terri and Louise) were proud to win the small team Transformation and Reinvention section of the Community Industry Group, We Do Magic Awards for our work on the Illawarra Interagency.

It was a wonderful, fun night celebrating the amazing and wonderful work being done in our community services industry throughout the Illawarra (including Shoalhaven). We would like to congratulate everyone who were nominated, as well as the winners. We all do incredible work and it is important to take a breath and remember what we are achieving each and every day.

In regard to our work with the Illawarra Interegancy it is fulfilling to witness how the sector evolves, getting to know the amazing network of people, seeing new services emerge, the changes, challenges and how we all rise to meet them with the help of networking and tapping into the amazing brains-trust we have in this industry.

The bushfires and COVID were definitely a challenge we all faced, and through the Interagency we acknowledged this in 2020 with a focus on resilience and innovation. This sector is known for its ability to face challenges and deal with adversity, so with this as our backbone, we recollected and chose to see these challenges as opportunity. We researched technology and useful topics to not only see us through this period, but to also improve the way we convene our meetings.

We thank Shellharbour and Kiama Council’s for encouraging the Illawarra Interagency partnership which is so rewarding and successful. It’s amazing what you can achieve with trust, commitment and the sharing of resources and ideas.

We also acknowledge the amazing work of the Community Industry Group, their innovative – proactive approach to supporting our local sector and their passion for social justice has always been an inspiration. We are greatful for our award and the oppotunity to gather and enjoy a celebration of our amazing sector.