8 Varsity Lakes Community Resource Centre 20 Mattocks Rd, Varsity Lakes | (07) 5593 7006 | www.varsitylakes.org.au 1-ON-1 DEVICE HELP “CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS” CHARGE UP: Bring your latest energy bill for quick savings checks EVERY WEEK ... Looking for something meaningful, social & empowering? CONNECTION CONFIDENCE COMMUNITY Discover... Everyone’s welcome – Come and say Hi! VLCRC is a welcoming place to learn, connect & feel supported Join us for: • Digital Literacy - one on one support • Cyber Security for Seniors & Vulnerable Groups • Help with your Energy Bills through the Charge Up Program • Become a Digital Mentor – Volunteer Training Now Open • Qigong – Gentle movement for balance & wellbeing • Help with complex forms (by appointment). Social inclusion programs that make you feel right at home How Old Maps Can Help You Trace Your Family History Old maps are practical tools for anyone researching their family history. They show how places have changed over time and can help you locate villages, streets, or farms that no longer appear on modern maps. Start by finding maps from the time and area your ancestors lived in. The National Library of Scotland and Old Maps Online are excellent free resources. Compare these with today’s maps to see how towns expanded or names changed. This can help you pinpoint exact locations for churches, burial grounds, or homes mentioned in old records. Next, look for features that reveal how your ancestors lived — mills, railways, factories, or farmland. These details provide clues about their work, travel, and community life. Old maps are also useful for tracking movement. If your family relocated, tracing old roads or railway lines can show likely routes and reasons for their journey. Keep notes of what you find and link your map discoveries to birth, marriage, or census records. Over time, you’ll build a clearer picture of your family’s world. Exploring old maps turns genealogy into more than research — it becomes a journey through the landscapes your ancestors once knew. For help with producing your family tree, you may like to join the Gold Coast Family History Society. For a modest yearly fee, you will have access to a comprehensive library, many worldwide subscription websites, and fellow researchers prepared to help you get started or break down any brick walls you may encounter. For further information visit http://www. goldcoastfhs.org.au or attend our rooms at the Bicentennial Building, 833 NerangSouthport Road, Nerang. GOLD COAST FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY Could Toastmasters Be Right For You? Do you have a fear of talking to a group of people? Whether it be to your local sport club or an involvement in your profession. Either way, fear when wanting to express your ideas to your peers in social or professional arenas can be devastating to your self-confidence and it could cost you that promotion you dreamed of. Help is readily available by getting involved in your local Toastmasters Club. There are 20 Toastmaster Clubs on our Gold Coast between Southport and Murwillumbah. Their mission is “We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater selfconfidences and personal growth”. Each club teaches prepared speeches based on a set of learning ‘Paths’ which have five sections to assist you to learn the different aspects of public speaking, each of these sections you will give a prepared speech based on the teaching of the lesson and afterwards you will be evaluated, both verbally and also a written evaluation, by an experienced Toastmaster who will mention points for improvement. Clubs also have a section called ‘Table Topics’ which is where you learn the skills in impromptu speaking. Other skills learnt in Toastmasters Clubs are leading and running a business style meeting. I can assure you meetings are not boring, we always have a lot of fun. Each year all clubs hold speech contests, there are four contests held, namely, International Speech Contest, Humorous Speech Contest, Evaluation Contest, and Table Topics Contest. Winners of these contests can go onto Area, Division and Region Area contests, with the winner of the regional International contest going on to compete against all other Regions throughout the world culminating in the Final of the International Contest to be held each year at the world head quarters in America. Toastmasters International, a not for profit organisation, was started in America in 1924 by a Ralph Smedley, and has just celebrated it’s 100th anniversary, over these years it has helped over one million people gain self-confidence and leadership skills and currently has over 14,000 clubs with over 500,000 members worldwide. To find out more contact me Ron Atkinson, Southern Division Director on 0425 233 987 or login to Toastmasters.org for more information and to find a club near your residence. We live by the motto, INTEGRITY, RESPECT, SERVICE, EXCELLENCE
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