Health check

Cora Lynn local Rosalie Bennetts says it’s ‘time to give something back to the community’. Rosalie has always supported her church’s fundraiser activities as they reached out to communities in need.
Her work with the Seventhday Adventist Church has seen money and much needed items distributed to many areas around Australia.
But Rosalie, who has lived in Cora Lynn with her family for the past 30 years, decided it was time she gave back to her more immediate community that has given her so much joy.
Starting on 28 September she will run a health program for locals.
The program, called Taking Charge of Your Health, will run for five weeks in the Seventhday Adventist Church hall in Bayles.
The program includes warmup exercises, a 45minute DVD professional presentation, and discussion time, which will include talks from local health professionals.
Rosalie has been involved with the Seventhday Adventist Church, which is financially supporting the program, for many years and currently works as its leader.
She said the church had been very involved in giving support to areas of need, but recently that help has not extended to the local community.
She said members had sent bales of hay to droughtaffected areas in New South Wales and they also sent clothing to NSW after the bushfires.
The church also supports the humanitarian agency Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and every year the church members come up with innovative ways to enjoy social occasions that are also good fundraisers for ADRA.
At a recent Italianthemed dinner at the home of Andre and Joylene Bokos in Pakenham, members managed to raise $1500 for ADRA.
She has also been involved in other fundraising programs, such as the Head Shave Challenge and she ran a table tennis competition in which members raised more than $3000 for the Cancer Foundation.
But Rosalie said she had wanted to do something for the local community for some time.
That was when she came up with the idea of offering the health program which she said has had immense success in the city and other places where it has run.
The program will cover topics such as managing stress, blood pressure, diabetes, nutrition, body image, social health and at risk behaviours.
Rosalie said sharing the program with the community was her way of giving something back.
“Health is everything and preventing a health problem is far better than having to seek a cure,” she said.
Rosalie had to retire from work after she was diagnosed with levelfour hormonally induced breast cancer.
She now takes a hormone tablet daily. She said while she would never fully recover, she was responding well to the treatment.
“The only price I have to pay is that the hormone tablets give me a stiffness in the bones like arthritis,” she said.
Rosalie Bennetts, 64, previously worked for 20 years, mainly in tourism marketing.
“I have enjoyed excellent work opportunities locally.
“I had the privilege of flying overseas regularly for work and hosting international students at our home,” she said.
Her last job was as the marketing manager at Gumbuya Park in Tynong North for five years.
When she was raising her children, Rosalie was involved on committees and as the school secretary at Iona Primary School at Vervale, and as a Religious Education teacher at Iona and Garfield Primary Schools.
She said while she wished she could keep working, she has never been busier since retiring.
“I finished work because of my own personal health issue and so far so good and, as my daughter and I both say it is almost worth having such a serious health problem to get to meet some of the most beautiful people in the medical profession.”
Rosalie has three children, Dean, a high school principal in NSW, KymMaree, a health professional, and Jarrod, a beef farmer, and two grandchildren, Ashley, 7, and Joshua, 9.
Rosalie said her decision to run the health program was purely to provide something that would benefit the local community.
“My philosophy is to give to your own community first,” she said.
Rosalie said health, particularly preventative medicine, was an important issue and one she wanted to bring to the community.
“There is a great value in networking in a safe environment,” she said.
“We can all learn so much from each other, encourage each other and share positive experiences.”
She said the family’s local chiropractor and naturopath had helped many people over the years and this was largely thanks to networking.
Rosalie said she believes the program will be a success, even if it only appeals to very few.
She said it was also important that the program was free so that it is accessible to the whole community.
“This is my little project for the community and I am looking forward to facilitating this program,” she said.
She said if it went well, she might follow on with a weight program.
The Taking Charge of Your Health program starts on Wednesday, 28 September and runs every Wednesday for five weeks from 7.15pm to 9pm.
The program is free and is for adults only.
Gumbuya Park office administrator Kimberley Rust will take a 15minute soft exercise program and Rosalie said she is planning to have guest speakers at the programs, such as a chef, to talk on nutrition and do a cooking demonstration in week four.
For more information or to book a place call Rosalie Bennetts on 0419 103 634.