Alan Moor has spent the past decade helping to fill the lives of older residents with interest and enjoyment.
The 79-year-old Kyneton local has held leadership roles with Kyneton U3A and the Kyneton Community House and has now been acknowledged for his efforts with a Council on the Ageing Victoria Senior Achiever Award.
Alan set up and coordinated the Men’s Kitchen at Kyneton U3A, a joint program run in partnership with Daylesford U3A that aims to provide men with cooking skills and friendship.
“I met the Daylesford U3A course coordinator in Melbourne and thought is was a terrific idea,” Alan explained.
“So I suggested running it as a joint program and we’ve been running it successfully since.
“Our chef comes up with a menu and demonstrates it and then it’s cooked and we have a meal.
“Sometimes one of our members will give a talk and so there’s also group discussion as well as cooking skills.”
Alan has been the chair of Kyneton Community House for 10 years and during that time has helped set up a number of projects including the Food Hub in High Street and the community garden at the Community House in Mollison Street.
“The Food Hub has enabled us to provide the weekly community lunch (a low-cost lunch of $7 per person), which everyone is invited to and is always well attended,” he said.
“We’ve also expanded the short courses available through the Community House, both community short courses and Continuing Education courses.
“I love the enthusiasm of the professional staff who have expanded the operation, particularly in the past five years, and managed to maintain the services through the covid lockdowns.”
Alan was presented with his award on October 24 at Government House in Melbourne by the Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, Professor James Angus, and the Victorian Minister for Ageing, Ingrid Stitt.
“It was a bit overwhelming, but I really felt that I was receiving it on behalf of all of the volunteers on the U3A committee and on the Community House committee, and also the Kyneton Connections committee,” he said.
