Welcome to our February Newsletter!
2023 is an exciting year of new social groups, events, activity opportunities, partnerships, and the rebuilding of services. The next few months are particularly exciting with many events coming up for our community. Enjoy the read.
A Message From the CEO
A belated happy new year to you all. Whilst 2022 was a very interesting year with a lot of changes and the amazing announcement of a War Widows Day in NSW, I am very excited for what 2023 has in store for you all!
This year, my priorities centre around growing the organisation and removing barriers to connecting with us. There are more than 15,000 war widows in NSW alone, yet we only know 2,000. There are at least 500,000 veteran family members nationwide, yet we only know a handful. There are a lot of people that need us, and we look forward to getting to know them.
As this new year commences, so too will our new social groups. Some of you may have already seen our online group ‘Our Space’ and seen that the first new group will be established in Canberra for contemporary widows and veterans’ families.
We will officially launch that expansion with a family-friendly event on 4 March 2023, if you are in Canberra and would like to attend, please register here. Following this, we will launch a new social group in Sydney around midyear. Stay tuned for more details.
We have already undertaken a lot of work to improve what we do and how we do it – this will continue throughout 2023. We are working hard to demonstrate our promise, you will not be left behind as we grow. Recently I heard a new member say “I wish I had you ladies much earlier…” that’s what our growth as an organisation aspires to achieve.
We are here to support veterans’ families when they need it, sometimes before the worst happens – because the life of a veterans’ spouse can be isolating and hard long before that veteran passes. Veterans’ families, in particular their parents and spouses, are rarely seen or supported until something bad happens, even then that support is short lived. We are here when everyone else leaves, we are here before you need us, we are your safety net.
2023 will be a big year and I look forward to sharing it with you all!
Renee Wilson, Chief Executive Officer AWWNSW
Click here to read the entire newsletter online or download here.
Check out our previous update:
AWWNSW Christmas Message December 2022
AWWNSW eNewsletter November 2022
