Name: Taryn Morrison
Compass Crew Since: 2019 Role: Support Trainer at the Compass Farm What attracted you to this role? I love the idea of empowering community and sharing knowledge. What is the favourite part of your day at Compass? All the laughter. What is something you have learned as a result of working in the disability support sector? Innate goodness of the individuals I have the joy of working with. What is something you wish people knew about your role or about the disability community? Learning something new everyday – the trainees are our biggest teachers. If there was anything you could change, what would it be? More dogs in the workplace! It’s the best. Any final words / comments / funny anecdotes Very little is needed to make a happy life. ... Read moreMeet the Crew: Tina Yalden
Name: Tina Yalden
Compass Crew Since: 2018 Role: Harvest Kitchen Trainer and now 2IC Compass Farm What attracted you to this role? I had not long moved up from Victoria and left my job of 8 years in Product Development (PD) for Campbell’s Soups. Compass needed someone to run the Harvest Kitchen enterprise working with the trainees to make Jams and Chutneys. With my background in PD it seemed like a good opportunity to combine what I used to do with a new adventure in disability support. The role was explained to me as ‘getting to cook with your best mates everyday’. It turned out to be that and so much more. I have since moved out of HK into the 2IC role this year, and am really enjoying supporting the trainees and staff on the farm more. What is the favourite part of your day at Compass? Getting to see the trainees thrive when they learn new things or participate in a program that they enjoy. I love the interactions with the trainees on the Farm. They know how to make everything fun! What is something you have learned as a result of working in the disability support sector? That you can never expect two days to be the same (which I love) and that the ability to go with the flow of our trainees is sometimes where the biggest rewards can come from. What is something you wish people knew about your role or about the disability community? This is the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. I am there as a trainer for our trainees, but I feel like I get so much back in return. Best job ever! If there was anything you could change, what would it be? I wouldn’t change a thing about what I do, but I am excited to see the services and facilities grow on the Farm so that we can offer more opportunity. Any final words / comments / funny anecdotes The best game of UNO I have ever played in my life was with some of my trainees. They just know how to make EVERYTHING fun!!! ... Read moreCompass Newsletter Updates October 2023
Campus & Enterprise Updates
Our campuses and enterprises are always so full of activity, learning and joy and these are the stories that we love to share with you.
Compass Farm
It’s been another busy quarter on the Compass Farm.
We started off July with the Nambour Show where we raffled off the infamous Chook Tractor. Kez and the Woodwork Team work on this all year to make sure it is absolutely perfect for Show Day. Tickets were sold at Nambour Show, and The Garden Show which raised $13,000 for the Farm to reinvest into our programs.
In August the Farm supported the local Hinterland Rangebow Festival. Trainee Dennis was invited to compete in Go Cart Racing to open the festival, with other local supporters and celebrities. Denis came first in his first qualifying round, and then 3rd in the final. It was such an exciting event! Well done to Denis!! Trainees were also invited to display some of their Artwork for sale in local cafes for purchase. Farm trainee Chris sold his Rainbow artwork for $100. Great Job Super Chris!!!
At the end of August, the Farm hosted a Team Building Event for North Coast Plumbing. As part of the event North Coast Plumbing donated new wheelbarrows, gloves, and over 100 new fruit trees for the Farm. The Harvest Kitchen Team put on a spit roast lunch will all the trimmings, while the Plumbing team helped plant all the trees. In the afternoon there was just enough time left for some fun and games, competing is a Farm Scavenger Hunt, and the Spaghetti and Marshmallow tower build, which was hilarious to watch. Thank you to North Coast Plumbing for their donations and support.
More recently in September, Farm trainees Bryn and Phoebe made friendship rocks for another huge supporter of Compass, AIB Insurance, for RUOK Day. Bryn and Phoebe painted each rock, gave them eyes, mouths and even their own names. They were stuck on a Compass Card with the message “Feeling sad or having a happy day? I am with you every step of the way…” Bryn and Phoebe then got to deliver morning tea to the AIB team, and hand out their individually created friends. Nice work girls!!!
Stay tuned to the Compass Facebook page as we head into Halloween and Christmas on the Farm!
Caloundra
Caloundra Teams have all been working hard on getting stock into Wabi Sabi for Christmas. CTU delivered Christmas stock to Wabi Sabi Nambour and the Botanical Café, our group have been working hard on creating a new soap range and a coffee scrub bar using recycled coffee beans from Caloundra café’s leftover coffee grinds!A new item added to our to our range is macramé key rings and lanyards made by CEU and plenty of Christmas decorations, tie dye items too. CEU visited the Botanical Gardens practicing their mapping skills using the Koala trail map.
Nambour
Gympie
HEART OF GOLD FESTIVAL TREE DECORATION
The trainees used their creative talent to decorate a tree in the main street to celebrate the upcoming Heart Of Gold Film Festival, along with many other local businesses. It’s a great way for the community to come together to showcase their ingenuity with tree decoration and to support a local iconic institution.
FOCUS ON ABILITY FILM FESTIVAL
The team entered a short film into the Focus On Ability Film Festival, which the trainees starred and co-wrote. Even though the story was fictional, it was based loosely on the Sports Carnival, using footage from these years and previous years sports days.
The theme was ‘Always help someone, because you might be the only one who does.’
The entry was accepted by the judges and is going to be shown at the finals in November in Sydney.
ROTARY EXERCISE PARK
Gympie has a new exercise park donated by the Rotary Club. The trainees and trainers enjoyed a personalised exercise program and were shown how to use all the equipment by Coaches from the Real Body Movement Functional Training Studio.
Caboolture
Connections Café
Garden Café
Harvest Kitchen
Harvest Kitchen has had a great few months! We have been creating new food specials and will be realising our 2023 Summer menu in the coming weeks. We have had many groups come to visit for morning tea with the amazing customer service from HK trainees. We have also utilised our farm fresh produce in our jams and chutneys.
Over the last few months Harvest Kitchen has prepared sweet and savoury platters for our guest groups. We have had a variety of people visit Compass Farm recently, with the trainees welcoming them with their beautiful customer service skills, smiling faces and a Harvest Kitchen made morning tea. The team has farewelled Sandra and Wendy by making pizzas and decorating cupcakes and their heartfelt messages.
Harvest Kitchen has taken a green approach to their packing and wrapping of hampers. We have recently invested in an industrial cardboard shredder. This will allow us to reduce our cardboard waste and repurpose it into box lining for our hampers. We will also be transitioning into a plastic free wrapping approach coming into the new year. Keep an eye out for our new and improved hampers that are eco-friendly!
Harvest Kitchen has seen an abundance of fresh produce coming from the farm. We have been loving using the blueberries, mulberries, ginger and more to create new and tasty recipes. Harvest Kitchen has a busy time ahead creating new menu items, 150+ Christmas hampers to make and preparing for our Halloween and Christmas celebrations.
Compass Café at Caloundra City Autos
Wabi Sabi
Recently, some of the Wabi trainee’s have been focusing on our job club booklets. This involves exploring possible areas of interest, careers and workplace types that trainees research and complete activities around. During these sessions we will explore job ready skills such as personal presentation, resume’s, applying for jobs and what to expect in an interview.
We also are busy instore creating new items to sell, many of our creations have been Halloween themed and soon we will turn our focus to the Christmas period. Many different Christmas tree decorations and table toppers are in the works.
Our trainees have also been experimenting with acrylic resin earrings.
Pictured are a few of the creations, keep an eye out in store for these an many more.
CONTACT COMPASS
Compass Newsletter Updates Grants & Fundraising
Grants, Fundraising & Community Updates
CONTACT COMPASS
Meet the Crew: Tim Aitken
Name: Tim Aitken
Compass Crew Since: 2014 Role: Support Trainer / 2IC at the Gympie Centre What attracted you to this role? The challenge that comes when supporting more than one person. What is the favourite part of your day at Compass? Just being with my people and helping them progress. What is something you have learned as a result of working in the disability support sector? I have learnt that through consistency progress will come. What is something you wish people knew about your role or about the disability community? The role, when it boils down to it, it’s about connection. People just want connection. ... Read moreCompass Farm Stay
Weekend Farm Stay at Compass Farm
Enjoy a weekend at Compass Farm, with a one-on-one support worker and a variety of activities to connect, rejuvenate and relax.
- 2/3 night’s accommodation
- All onsite meals
- One-on-one support worker for the duration of the stay
- Meaningful connections
- Personalised itinerary
- NDIS-funded
- Feeding animals
- Art activities
- Food preparation
- Fruit picking
- Woodworking
- Farm walk
- Yoga
- Exploring the local area
Book your Farm Stay Here
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR DISABILITY SERVICES
Meet Trainee Dylan
Name: Dylan Evans
Compass Trainee Since: 2021 Campus: The Farm & Connections Café Dylan’s mum kindly answered these questions to share with you here. How would you describe Dylan? Happy, friendly, caring, and a good-natured person that gives his best efforts in everything he does. Why did you choose to come to Compass 2 years ago? We chose Compass as we had heard good things about this place. We came for a visit and saw all the opportunities if offers. Dylan liked the Farm and said yes, we’ll try it out. We thought this would offer Dylan something more than just hanging out at home. We saw that Compass would help him learn new skills and be able to build some friendships. What has Compass meant to you and your family? Coming on board with Compass has meant that Dylan can work and learn life skills, and work towards his goals for future living. How has Dylan grown over the years? What are some of the main differences you see and outcomes that have been achieved? Dylan now has a busy week working with Compass. He has achieved more confidence and become more adaptable to ever-changing situations. He has connected with his peers and trainers and become quite a happy young man. Working at the Café makes him feel like part of a team. He also feels like he is contributing, like his friends and family, having a job and working towards life goals. What are some of the biggest obstacles you’ve seen Dylan overcome in his time at Compass? His communication and confidence as well as his gross motor skills. He is so happy working with his friends and enjoying his job. A big focus of Compass is about helping others see people with disabilities in a different light and encouraging them to look beyond the disability. With that in mind, what would you most like people to know about Dylan? We would love people to see Dylan as a happy, funny, gentle, young man, who is helpful and capable of any task given to him. Dylan is passionate about sport, he loves football and cricket and he is a good caring friend. What is your dream for Dylan’s future? For him to be able to communicate with others and feel included and be confident and independent in any situation, to be genuinely happy. ... Read moreSteadfast Convention Charity Partner Proposal
Steadfast Convention Charity Proposal 2024
Meet the Crew: Bri Halliday
Name: Brianna Halliday
Compass Crew Since: May 2022 Role: Team Leader Harvest Kitchen / Support Trainer What attracted you to this role? I had recently hit my 10 years of working in all sectors of hospitality and decided I needed a change. During high school I wanted to be a special needs teacher but as I started working more after school in an events company, I found my passion for hospitality and events. I went on to complete my Bachelor’s degree in Business and Event Management. In 2021 I decided to complete my support work qualification and was lucky enough for 4 weeks placement here. While on placement I fell in love with all of Compass and fostered a great connection with the trainees. I am very grateful for my position which allows me to engage with trainees as well as incorporate a business aspect into my role. What is the favourite part of your day at Compass? The interactions with the trainees. They brighten up your day from the moment you walk in. I love the little messages I get written on my lunch wrapping, the laughs we have, the meaningful moments and learning opportunities as well as the daily banter. Oh, and testing the jam and chutney batches before we jar up… yum! What is something you have learned as a result of working in the disability support sector? It’s the relationships you form with trainees that allow them to grow and achieve through your support and interactions. I was surprised how much you learn about yourself through this role as well. Although you are there to help them thrive, they are actually the ones that enrich your life. What is something you wish people knew about your role or about the disability community? How important accessibility is. I find myself evaluating situations or environments that I am in assessing how accessible it would be for someone with a disability. I’m looking at not only providing physical accommodations but also fostering a culture of respect and understanding. Next time someone with a disability interacts with you, try and communicate with them before the jumping to the support worker. A simple hello back could make their day. If there was anything you could change, what would it be? I would have loved to have started in this industry a lot sooner! Any final words / comments / funny anecdotes etc? Support trainers are the guiding stars that illuminate the path to thriving and enriching lives for their clients. We are there to shine a light on their ability, not disability. ... Read moreBook a Tour
Find Your Happy at Compass
We understand that each person is unique, with their own distinct goals and aspirations.
That’s why we offer a range of tailored NDIS-funded programs designed to provide opportunities while creating a safe and happy environment for skill-building, fostering confidence and cultivating lifelong learning.
Find out more about our diverse range of programs when you book your exclusive one on one tour with a dedicated team member at the location of your choice.
Our team will go through each of the programs we have on offer to understand what aligns with your interests and learning and development goals.
These programs include:
Multi-Media
Woodworking
Cooking & Hospitality Training
Farming, Harvesting & Animal Therapy
Creative Arts & Pottery
Aikido
Health & Wellbeing
Music & Drama
Social & Community Engagement
As well as vocational opportunities available through our social enterprises.