While the NSWYAWA Group tries to meet once a month, we will also be holding periodic special events. In the past this has included social evenings and we hope to run weekends away in the future. If a special event is planned, brief details will be posted on the main Meeting Dates page and a mention will be made that it is a special event. Further details can be found here or by contacting us in the usual manner. (Please note that the Flyers for these events are pdf files and require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.)

Sunday, 6th April April, 2008
NSW Arthritis Family Picnic Day for Kids and Young Adults with Arthritis
Central Gardens, Merrylands - in area next to tennis courts
Entry via Paton Rd 10:30am - onwards
Free Event
Click here to view the flyer for this event

NSW YAWA, in conjunction with the NSW Arthritis Foundation, are holding a BBQ / Picnic at Central Gardens Merrylands to celebrate Arthritis Week 2007. Come along and meet other young adults living with arthritis – come on your own, or bring a friend, spouse, partner or family members (including children). There is a fully equiped playground close to where we will be sitting.

There is only limited seating in the area so please bring a rug or chairto sit on and don't forget your hat and sunscreen. BBQ lunch including meat, salads, tea, coffee, and cold drinks will be provided. Feel free to bring your own lunch if you would prefer.

For further information and to check for any changes in plans, phone the NSW Arthritis Foundation on 02 9683 1622.
Please RSVP to yawa@arthritisnsw.org.au or call the NSW Arthritis Foundation with your details (including how many will be attending with you) by Friday, 28th March so we can order enough food for everyone.


Sunday, 1st April April, 2007
NSW Arthritis Family Picnic Day for Kids and Young Adults with Arthritis
Central Gardens, Merrylands - in area next to tennis courts
Entry via Paton Rd 10:30am - onwards
Free Event
Click here to view the flyer for this event

NSW YAWA, in conjunction with the NSW Arthritis Foundation, are holding a BBQ / Picnic at Central Gardens Merrylands to celebrate Arthritis Week 2007. Come along and meet other young adults living with arthritis – come on your own, or bring a friend, spouse, partner or family members (including children).

There is only limited seating in the area so please bring a rug or chair if you can. BBQ lunch including meat, salads, tea, coffee, and cold drinks will be provided. Feel free to bring your own lunch if you would prefer.

For further information and to check for any changes in plans, phone the NSW Arthritis Foundation on 02 9683 1622.
Please RSVP to yawa@arthritisnsw.org.au or call the NSW Arthritis Foundation with your details (including how many will be attending with you) by Monday, 26th March so we can order enough food for everyone.


Saturday 9th December, 2006
End of Year / Christmas Luncheon
Garden Buffet, Star City Casino, Darling Harbour
11:45am onwards Members to cover own costs for this event.

The Garden Buffet an all you can eat buffet and is located just off the main gaming area of Star City Casino. The buffet caters for all tastes and is also known as the "prawn buffet" as whole king prawns are one of the items on the menu. Other menu items included in the cost are salads, hot and cold meat, hot dishes (such as pizza, pasta, Chinese meals and vegetables) and a variety of desserts and fresh fruit. The cost for lunch is approximately $20 for members of Star City and $27 for non members (membership is free) and includes soft drinks and tea / coffee. The venue is licensed and you can purchase alcholoic drinks at an additional cost if desired.
This is the same venue that we had our 2004 end of year luncheon at. It is easily accessible by car or public transport. Parking Stations are available at Star City (but you do need to pay to park in it) and there is a light rail stop right at the Casino.

The buffet opens at 11:30am for lunch but we have decided to meet outside the buffet at 11:45am for a 12:00pm start. There is a foyer / meeting area between the gaming floor and the Garden Buffet. Please meet there as close to 11:45am as possible as we cannot go in until all attendees are present. As such, you will need to let us know if you intend coming so we can wait for you (email us at yawa@arthritisnsw.org.au).


Saturday, 29th July, 2006
Social Event - Yum Cha Lunch
Phoenix Restaurant, Rhodes Shopping Centre
1 Rider Boulevard (off Homebush Bay Dr), Rhodes
12:00pm - onwards
$24.00 per person, excluding drinks

Traditionally the NSW YAWA group cellebrates Yulefest/Christmas in July with a weekend away at the Blue Mountains. As this event can be quite expensive, this year we have decided to just have a social lunch in Sydney instead. This will hopefully enable more members to attend. As always, partners/family and friends are more than welcome.

After consultation with our members, we have decided to go to the Phoenix Restaurant at the Rhodes Shopping Centre for Yum Cha. There are now 4 Phoenix Restaurants around Sydney, with the opening of the Rhodes restaurant in June 2006. They offer at Yum Cha Banquet for $24.00 per person (plus drinks). This is a set menu of 10 different Yum Cha dishes and everything is served hot directly from the kitchen rather than off the carts that most people are used to when eating Yum Cha. However,additional dishes can be purchased off the trolleys but these will be charged seperately.

The set menu for the Yum Cha Banquet is:
Spring Rolls
Fried Won tons
Mixed Steamed Dim Sim Platter (Gow Gee, Vegetable Dumpling, & Siu Mai)
Steamed BBQ Pork Bun
Salt & Pepper Calamari
Steamed Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce
BBQ Combo (BBQ Pork & Roast Duck)
Fried Rice
Singapore Fried Noodles
Mango Pancakes

The Phoenix Restaurant is located on Level 5 of the Rhodes Shopping Centre, near the cinemas (the opposite end of the centre to IKEA. The address is 1 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes and the entrance is off Homebush Bay Dr. It is best to park near the cinemas. There is also a train station at Rhodes (the Rhodes Shopping Centre website says it is a 5 min walk to the station) for those who need to catch public transport.

We do have a table booked for this event so if you would like to join us and have not already told us you are coming, please let us know ASAP but no later than Monday, 24th July. Send your RSVP by email to yawa@arthritisnsw.org.au with your name, a contact number, and the number of seats you want booked or Alternatively, call Arthritis NSW on 02 9683 1622 and ask to speak to Leanne or Nadine.


Sunday, 9th April, 2006
NSW Arthritis Family Picnic Day for Kids and Young Adults with Arthritis
Lane Cove National Park (area 32),
10:30am - onwards
Free Event but there is a $7 per car entry fee into the National Park
Click here to view the flyer for this event
Click here to view the map for Lane Cove NAtional Park

NSW YAWA, in conjunction with the NSW Arthritis Foundation, are holding a BBQ / Picnic in Lane Cove National Park to celebrate Arthritis Week 2006. Come along and meet other young adults living with arthritis – come on your own, or bring a friend, spouse, partner or family members (including children).

There is only limited seating in the area (3 picnic tables) so please bring a rug or chair if you can. BBQ Chickens, Sausages, Bread, Plates and Cutlery will be provided. BYO Drinks and Salads. There are 2 wood fired BBQ (BYO wood) in the are and we will have one small gas BBQ if you want to bring some other meat to cook.

For previous Family Picninc Days, NSW YAWA members have arranged to bring one salad or dish of food each which can be shared amongst our members. This ensures we have a good variety of food and minimises the amount of dishes each person needs to bring. Sharing food also helps to ensure all our members have a chance to interact with each other. Obviously everyone is free to bring their own food if they prefer but if you would like to be involved in the communal food, please email us with your details and your "specialty" dish or preference for what you would like to bring. In late March, we will let everyone know who is to bring what.

There is a shelter shed in the area we have hired so at this stage there are no alternative plans if it is raining.

For further information and to check for any changes in plans, phone the NSW Arthritis Foundation on 02 9683 1622.
Please RSVP to yawa@arthritisnsw.org.au or call the NSW Arthritis Foundation with your details (including how many will be attending with you) by Friday, 31st March so we can order enough chickens / sausages for everyone.


Thursday, 6th April, 2006
Arthritis Week Seminar - "Living Well with Arthritis
Menzies Hotel, Wynyard
6pm - 9pm
Free Event
Location to be confirmed
Click here to view the flyer for this event

Arthritis NSW will be conducting a seminar on "Living Well With Arthritis" on the evening of Thursday, 6th April to coincide with Arthritis Week. This seminar will be held in the evening to allow people who work or who otherwise cannot go to a daytime seminars to attend.

This seminar will include presentations by a rheumatologist, an occupational therapist, a dietician to discuss health eating and a fitness/exercise instructor to talk about appopriate forms of exercise for people with arthritis. All presentations will have the theme of "Living Well With Arthritis" and will provide information and tips on how to make life and the day to day tasks we all have to do easier. Light Refreshments will be served during this event.

This seminar will be free but Arthritis NSW do ask that you register your interest and intention to attend so we can ensure adequate resources and seating. Call Arthritis NSW on 02 9683 1622 between 9am and 5pm weekdays.


Saturday, 18th March, 2006
NSW YAWA Media Trainning Session
Rutledge Room, Ryde-Eastwwod Leagues Club
corner Ryedale Rd and Wattle St, West Ryde
10:30am - 12:30pm
There is no cost to attend this session and morning tea will be provided

This session was initially planned in response to requests from NSW YAWA members. In recent times, media requests have come through Arthritis NSW from various media outlets wanting to interview younger people living with arthritis. We have around 12 people from the group who have said they are willing to do interviews within reason and a few others have indicated that they would be interested in they had some media trainning. This session will help both these groups.

While this session is essentially designed to help people prepare for and participate in media interviews, many of the skills taught will also help you to become more comfortable about discussing your arthritis with family, friends, colleagues, etc. Part of the preperation for interviews involves determining what aspects of your arthritis you are comfortable discussing and sharing and you need to assess how your arthritis actually affects you. We have all had situations where we have needed to talk about our arthritis with various people and this session will help give you the tools to do that without getting overly emotional or sounding like a robot.

This session will be conducted by someone who works in the area of media relations and who knows what makes a good interview. The two hour session includes:

• Understanding the Media (30 min) - How influential are the media, what is a successful interview, what do journalists want, every word counts, rights and ethics, be prepared.
  
  
• Preparing to meet the media (40 min) - what is "good media talent", planning an interview (using Arthritis Week Key Messages), the message - defining and refining, delivering the message / performance techniques, tips for successful interviews.
  
  
• Practice Session (40-45min) - one on one interviews, different styles, practicing the delivery of key messages.

Disclaimer
The information provided on this site should not replace the advice and guidance of your own health-care providers. All material is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is the opinion of the authors. Please check with your doctor before making any changes to your treatment.

Copyright 2002 NSW Young Adults with Arthritis.
Site Developed by Leanne Way. All feedback to yawa@arthritisnsw.org.au