The new equipment is a great acquisition for the group and has been installed at its Benalla Senior Citizens Community Centre home.
Benalla and District U3A president Margaret Jenkins said the projector would benefit all users of the centre.
“This is a fantastic addition to the facility, and one that will help see the building used to its fullest potential,” Mrs Jenkins said.
“In our grant application to council we highlighted a number of ways we could see a projector being used here, not only by us but by the Senior Citizens, Bridge Club and other users of the building.
“At our Meet and Mingle events we usually have 60 to 70 people attend and have a guest speaker who often wants to show a series of slides or other visual media to compliment their talk.
“With the installation of this overhead projector we are now able to offer a visual means of complimenting the guest speaker’s talk while also being able to better accommodate the large number of members that come along.
“Another important reason for getting an overhead projector, is to show movies during extreme heat days, when the centre is opened as a place of refuge for our older community members.
“We now have a way to keep everyone entertained.”
U3A was successful in applying for a $2500 Community Grant in 2021 and council decided to double the funding to $5000 to ensure the best equipment could be purchased.
“I’d like to thank Benalla Rural City Council on behalf of Benalla and District U3A for supporting this application,” Mrs Jenkins said.
“We are very grateful and will be putting it to use straight away.“
Benalla Rural City Council Mayor Bernie Hearn said it was an easy decision to firstly support the grant application and then increase the funding.
“Once we realised this projector would be an asset not only to council but to so many community members that use the Senior Citizens Centre, we decided to support the purchase of the most suitable equipment for the space,” Cr Hearn said.
“It is great to see community groups like U3A bouncing back after a difficult couple of years, and to hear that they are getting 60 to 70 people attend their events is great.
“If they need to meet in the auditorium rather than a meeting room, we want to support that as best we can.”
The first official event putting the new projector to use will be a digital literacy workshop titled “Get Online” during Seniors’ Week on Wednesday, October 19, presented by the Benalla and District U3A.
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