I felt instantly at ease upon entering the Woolangabba Art Gallery for the closing night of The Maids, as part of The Anywhere Festival.

The instant rush of comfort stemmed from the sweet welcome, Stephen Nothling’s magical art, and the structural historical nuances of the building.

I had recollections of my elaborate catholic all girls’ boarding school as I walked up the stairs to the garret of the Woolangabba Art Gallery.

The character, Claire (Amy Hauser), of The Maids was walking, humming and ahhing while waiting for the audience to settle in.

On time, Solange (Re’anne Duffy) entered dressed as a maid and the corresponding scenes covered Claire as the Madam and Solange as the maid.

These scenes were alive, real and compelling and erupted to a crescendo, as the elaborate ‘red dress’ was unveiled.

The maids, Claire and Solange were on a path to destroy their ever-elegant Madame (played by Caitlin Hill) while destructing themselves.

Madame swaggered into the room, styled in a gorgeous sequined hounds tooth gown, and immediately sets forth her opinions, lack of empathy and hellish truth upon the fragile maids.

The Maids was directed and constructed to use every tiny bit of space of the upstairs of the Woolangabba Art Gallery with minimal props and appealing over the top creations of wardrobe by Harpi designs.

The actor’s portrayed their characters in realistic and captivating real time.

Spittle, tears, sweat and laughs were authentic and harrowing.

Genet’s The Maids is very much a parable for today with its brutal conflict played out between the haves and have-nots, and it challenges the audience to think about the possibility of change.

Results of Survey

(as at 17.01.2013)

 

Foodbank Queensland received ninety three (93) replies to the survey from food sponsors and welfare agencies throughout Queensland.

1. The first question is as follows – How did you become aware of Foodbank Qld?

• The answers were
  • Newspapers or magazines
  • Online
  • Welfare Agencies
  • Food Sponsors
  • Other
• The responses were as follows;
  • 11 respondents said Newspapers and Magazines
  • 3 respondents said online
  • 32 respondents said welfare agencies
  • 6 respondents said Food Sponsors
  • 41 respondents said Other (please see database for detailed messages).

2. The second question is as follows – Are you aware of Foodbank Qld’s current publications?

• The responses were as follows;
  • 49 Yes’
  • 45 No

3. The third question is as follows – Do you read Foodbank Qld’s current publications?

• The responses were as follows;
  • 48 Yes’
  • 42 No
  • 4 Sometimes

4. The fourth question is as follows – Do you peruse Foodbank Qld’s internet sites?

• The responses were as follows;
  • 25 Yes
  • 63 No
  • 5 Sometimes

5. The fifth question is as follows – Are you aware of Foodbank Qld’s social media sites?

• The responses were as follows;
  • 29 Yes
  • 64 No

6. The final question is – Would your organization like to affiliate with Foodbank Qld’s social media sites?

• The responses were as follows;
  • 46 Yes (Julie-Ann has added them to Foodbank Qld’s social media sites, see table below)
  • 34 No
  • 13 Not sure (Julie-Ann has e-mailed these organisations explaining what it is and how they can help – waiting on responses)

Below is a comprehensive table of various organisations and how they are linked to Foodbank Qld’s social media sites (in relation to question 6 on the survey).

Name of Organisation	Linked In	facebook	Piniterest	Twitter
139 Club	Yes	Yes	Yes
Abbotsleigh Citrus	Yes	Yes
Acacia Care and Omega International Church		Yes	Yes
Access Street Vans	Yes	Yes
Annerley Church of Christ	Yes	Yes
Aussie Helpers	Yes	Yes	Yes
Australian Fresh Salads	Yes	Yes
Australian Tongan Association Inc
Brisbane Foster Care Support Group
Brisbane Markets	Yes	Yes
Burnie Brae Centre -Project Pantry	Yes	Yes
Caboolture Community Action	Yes
Catspaw Farm
Chermside Anglican Welfare Ministries		Yes
Community Action in Carole Park Inc	Yes
Education Queensland	Yes
Family Haven	Yes
Global Care	Yes	Yes
HelpForce	Yes
HOPE Community Care	Yes
Hosanna Church Brisbane	Yes
Ipswich Region Community Church	Yes	Yes
Impact Church, Springwood	Yes
Inala Youth Service	Yes	Yes	Yes
Just Squeezed Fruit Juices	Yes	Yes	Yes
King International Operations	Yes
Lighthouse Community Care	Yes
Logan East Community Neighbourhood Centre		Yes
Micah Projects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
NerangNeighbourhood Centre	Yes	Yes
Perfection Fresh	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reach Out Community and Family Care Inc		Yes
River City Church Brisbane	Yes
Ronald McDonald House – Mater	Yes
Ronald McDonald House – SEQ	Yes	Yes	Yes
Salvation Army – Street Level Mission	Yes	Yes
Salvation Army – Brisbane	Yes	Yes
Sandgate House Youth Emergency Services		Yes	Yes
Sandhurst Fine Foods	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Scripture Union	Yes	Yes	Yes
Set Free Care	Yes	Yes
Shine Community Care	Yes	Yes
Sisters Inside	Yes	Yes
St Bartholomew’s Youth Accommodation		Yes
St Vincent de Paul	Yes	Yes	Yes
Steric Trading Pty Ltd	Yes	Yes	Yes
Suncoast Care	Yes
Teen Mission International Australia
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Independent School			Yes
The Exchange Church	Yes	Yes	Yes
The Rock Family and Community Support Inc ( the welfare arm of the Rock Christian Church)			Yes
Twin Rivers Food Co-op	Yes
Uniting Care Community Refugee Claimant Support Service			Yes
Vibe Care Ltd	Yes
Vita Coco Blue Oxygen	Yes	Yes
We Care 2 Inc
Wickhams Farms Killarney	Yes
Wodonga Park Fruit and Nuts	Yes
Youth Housing Project	Yes	Yes

Additionally, while thanking the following sponsors on social media sites (23^rd January, 2013), they have been added to the following sites:

Acacia Ridge Community Support Incpinterest –

Brisbane City Council Libraries          Linkedin-  facebook – pinterest – twitter

Goodman Fielder                                Linkedin – facebook – pinterest

Jupiters Casino                                    Linkedin – facebook – pinterest

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk                 facebook- piniterest

SA Contingent Scouts                          Linkedin – facebook– pinterest -twitter

Communications Officer 

The role involves a range of communications to promote a positive image of Foodbank Queensland  including organising advertising, online and digital work, plus various other tasks such as media releases and developing communications plan.  The Communications Officer must work alongside management and administration to aid in the media development of Foodbank Queensland.   Currently this position is voluntary. 

Some key responsibilities: 

• CoordinateFoodbank’s internal and external communication channels 
• Develop a communication plan
• Carry out key actions within the communication plan, such as;
• Assisting with online and social media
• Writing media releases.

Essential Criteria: 

• Relevant tertiary qualifications or equivalent previous experience in a communications role
• Demonstrated experience in sourcing material and writing copy for publications,promotional material, sponsorship proposals and other strategic initiatives 
• Demonstrated professional writing skills
• Develop, implement and maintain strong and effective communications with key stakeholders
• High-level written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate complex issues into simple messages
• Demonstrated organisational and time management skills, and the ability to manage multipleprojects with competing deadlines 
• Commitment to the philosophy ofFoodbank Queensland and the ability and desire to uphold these values. 

Desirable: 

• Demonstrated experience in event promotion
• Demonstrated experience liaising with media.

Written applications which detail compliance with the essential and desirable requirements should be forwarded to gus@foodbankqld.org.au.