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Camden Haven Day VIEW Club
About
Camden Haven Day VIEW Club was formed in 1992.
Currently, the Club sponsors five Smith Family Learning for Life students and is actively involved in fundraising activities to raise donations for The Smith Family programs.
We are always open to new members, so please get in touch today and come and see what it's all about.
Location
- When: Meeting Day on the 3rd Monday each month
- Time: At 11.00am
- Where: Laurieton United Services Club
- Address: Seymour Street, LAURIETON NSW 2443
Club News
Meet Our 2026 Committee
Our Club's 2026 committee was elected at our November luncheon 2025.
We have a great team who enjoys working together to provide opportunities for our members to have an enjoyable time building friendships, caring for others and raising money to support our Learning for Life students through The Smith Family.
April 2026 Guest Speaker
Our members and several visiting guests enjoyed spending time together at our April meeting. Our guest speaker Gillian Donaldson was very engaging and so interesting to listen to.
Gillian is an entertainer who has performed in a variety of musicals, including the lead role in Evita, as well as on TV shows and concerts. She shared with us her experience as a 19 year old spending 8 months in Vietnam during the Vietnam War entertaining the troops in the American and Australian bases. From her first night under curfew listening to helicopters and mortar fire all night to surviving being shot at while on stage, having tear gas thrown into her tent at night, the appreciative soldiers who enjoyed the reprieve from battle and taste of home from the music she shared, helicopter rides, performing on makeshift stages, such as the back of a truck; and so much more.
We were enthralled by her story and reminded how important it is to be reminded of the price others have paid for our freedom as we lead up to ANZAC Day - Lest we forget.
March 2026 Guest Speaker
Our guest speaker, pictured, for March was Theo from Camden Haven Community at 3. Such an interesting speaker!! Theo shared with us how Community at 3 began, why they are called Community at 3, and how this group works to help people in our community who are experiencing hardship, in particular those who find themselves homeless.
At 3pm every Wednesday this group provides a meal for people who are experiencing hardship. Community at 3 is all about building community by supporting and encouraging those in the community who are willing and able to help those who are in need. Their mission is: Providing a welcoming community free of discrimination, fostering social inclusion, and delivering wellbeing programs, facilities and networks to enhance lives.
While many of us were shocked to learn just how many people are sleeping rough in our own community, we were all inspired to learn how Community at 3 is providing practical support, as well as how we can be a part of this support.
Celebrating International Women's Day in 2026
A wonderful group of women gathered at the Laurieton United Services Club to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 9. We all enjoyed a delicious morning tea as we shared stories about significant women in our lives. Even though our guest speaker was unexpectedly unable to attend, we were inspired and entertained by Members sharing their stories about women who have impacted their lives. These stories reminded us how strong and resilient women are, and how much we give of ourselves to benefit those around us.
National Counsellor Dianne shared some information about VIEW, highlighting the impact The Smith Family sponsorship of students and other educational initiatives are helping students in need. Through our clubs we are able to Give so that students can Gain; fitting nicely with this years theme for IWD - Give to Gain.
On this day we were able to raise over $600 for this valuable cause.
On this day we were able to raise over $600 for this valuable cause.
Christmas Party 2025!
We had a lovely time together at our Christmas Party. Lots of fantastic Lucky Door prizes - 12 in fact. Four amazing Christmas hampers as raffle prizes.
Fun and laughter as we played a game of Pass the Christmas Parcel with a difference - nothing like some charades and other challenges to get us all guessing and giggling. It was so good to have everyone joining in the fun.
Laurietunes provided some beautiful music to entertain us and to help us get into the spirit of Christmas by singing along. Delicious food for lunch, and even more sweet treats and Christmas Cake to take home with us - what a wonderful way to finish up the year. Have a happy and safe Christmas everyone.
Photo shows newly appointed Zone Councillor Evie and Vice President Suellen cutting our Christmas Cake which was made by our president Bev.
2025 November Luncheon Meeting
At our November luncheon meeting we elected our committee for 2026. We have a great team who enjoy working together to provide opportunities for our members to have an enjoyable time building friendships, caring for others and raising money to support our Learning for Life students through The Smith Family.
Our guest speaker today was Karina who spoke to us about chair yoga and showed us some of the yoga moves we can do. We all felt very relaxed by the end of our meeting.
October Soctober 2025
Our October Socktober Luncheon Meetings are always a lot of fun, and today was no exception.
At our Socktober Meeting, everyone receives a sock as they arrive, and when it is time for dessert we find the person who has our sock's partner to have dessert with. The lovely buzz in the room is awesome as ladies get to have a good chat with someone they may not have had the opportunity to get to know yet. Even if we do know each other, there is always more to learn. We found out that some of our Members have had some pretty crazy and incredible experiences.
So good to have fun learning more about each other. This is what VIEW is all about - connecting and building lovely friendships.
Fashion Fundraiser in September 2025
Our September Fashion Parade was a fantastic success, raising over $1,000. We had 99 Members and guests attend on the day. The room looked beautiful with colourful table settings, and the layout ensured everyone got to see the lovely clothes from JA Fashions, and shoes from Laurieton Footwear & Bowls, as our wonderful models paraded.
LUSC provided delicious food for our afternoon tea as well as cheese platters on our tables to nibble on as we waited for the parade to start. Several ladies went home with lucky door and raffle prizes. We are so grateful to the local business that supported our club by donating gift vouchers and other goodies for our prizes.
September 2025
Members enjoyed a lovely day together for the September Club Meeting. Vice President Suellen was presented with her 20 Year VIEW Membership Pin by President Bev, who can both be seen in the accompanying top photo.
After lunch Suellen shared some information about the history of greeting cards. She then demonstrated how to make a greeting card, and supplied us all with a kit so that we could make our own. Suellen makes beautiful cards and is responsible for sending cards to any of our Members who need some encouragement due to illness or the loss of loved ones.
There was a wonderful atmosphere of fun as we enjoyed our time sharing in this activity and spending time together.
After lunch Suellen shared some information about the history of greeting cards. She then demonstrated how to make a greeting card, and supplied us all with a kit so that we could make our own. Suellen makes beautiful cards and is responsible for sending cards to any of our Members who need some encouragement due to illness or the loss of loved ones.
There was a wonderful atmosphere of fun as we enjoyed our time sharing in this activity and spending time together.
33rd Birthday Celebrations in 2025
As can be seen by the accompanying photos, Members had fun with our Rhythm and Blues theme at our 33rd Birthday Celebrations. The blue being in line with the sapphire blue celebrating 65 Years of VIEW. The room, our table settings and our cake were all decorated fantastically.
Cheryl, our special guest entertainer, provided beautiful music. Appreciation and Making a Difference Awards were presented, and some lucky ladies went home with raffle prizes, lucky door prizes and 100 Club winnings.
It was a fun day for everyone with the money raised will be used to support more students through The Smith Family.
June 2025 Soup Slice and Damper Day
Lovely warm sunshine, delicious soup with fresh damper and sensational slices were the perfect accompaniments for 22 of our Members to enjoy some time together and raise $460 to help support disadvantaged kids through The Smith Family.
We all ate as much as we could, and many took some food home for $2 per container. Two lucky ladies won raffle prizes, and everyone enjoyed relaxing in the sunshine and getting to know each other better.
Winter Theme in June 2025
We had a fun time at our Winter Themed Luncheon Meeting on June 16 to celebrate the winter solstice knowing that we are very close to the shortest day, which means the days will soon be getting longer
Members dressed up in their winter woollies and had fun with some winter themed activities including a trivia quiz and games. Our Family Feud styled game revealed popular answers to where we would like to go for a winter holiday; winter comfort food and drinks; winter sports; our favourite thing about winter; and more. The snowball scoop game certainly had us laughing.
Then we added in some delicious winter comfort food; it was an excellent opportunity to share quality time with our friends and get to know each other better; a great way to spend a winter's day.
A Fun Day Out For Members Of Our Club
After all the rain it was so good to get out in the sunshine and enjoy a game of Mini Golf at Kew Country Club. We all had a fun time and some more ladies joined us for lunch in the club house afterwards. The lucky winners took home certificates and some delicious chocolate golf balls.
2025 May Luncheon Meeting
While it was wet and wild outside we enjoyed a pleasant time inside for our May Luncheon Meeting.
Newly appointed Assistant Secretary Heather was presented with her badge, and she also had the pleasure of introducing and thanking our guest speaker, Gilly, from Camden Haven Community College.
Gilly spoke about the history and purpose of the community college. We learnt about the various courses on offer and that most of the people working at the college are volunteers. We also had the opportunity to make suggestions of any other courses we felt would be beneficial for our community. We are very grateful for our community college, for the friendly, helpful and important service it provides.