Community Resources: June 14, 2016
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<strong>14</strong><br />
Stimulate<br />
Mind, Body<br />
& Spirit<br />
Unfulfilled at work? Yearning for more social<br />
connections? Stuck in a rut? If these niggling<br />
questions have been bothering you then signing up<br />
for a community course could be just<br />
the answer you’ve been looking for.<br />
Instead of slumping in front<br />
of the TV the minute you get<br />
home from work, why not<br />
stimulate your senses, fast<br />
track your career, master a<br />
new skill, take up a new hobby,<br />
or join your local sports club<br />
and widen your social circle,<br />
by attending one of the many<br />
community based courses<br />
around Christchurch.<br />
Explore something new,<br />
challenge yourself by building<br />
on your existing knowledge,<br />
or simply do something you’ve<br />
always dreamed of doing, but<br />
have never made the time for.<br />
There are a great selection<br />
of affordable part-time and<br />
full-time community based<br />
courses, offering a wide<br />
variety of subjects and training<br />
programmes for all ages and<br />
abilities, run by qualified tutors<br />
from schools, polytechnics, and<br />
community centres around<br />
Christchurch.<br />
Looking for an engaging<br />
activity I could pursue using<br />
a bundle of vintage fabric I<br />
had collected over the years,<br />
I signed up for an eight week<br />
sewing course.<br />
Revitalising my home décor,<br />
I made my own cushion covers<br />
for a fraction of the cost of<br />
store bought ones, whilst<br />
learning new skills and making<br />
new friends.<br />
A friend of mine decided to<br />
boost her confidence and step<br />
outside her comfort zone by<br />
taking an evening burlesque<br />
class. Learning new skills has<br />
increased her confidence in a<br />
fun environment with other<br />
women, with whom she has<br />
made a new circle of friends.<br />
<strong>Community</strong> Information<br />
Christchurch (CINCH - www.<br />
cinch.org.nz) is an online<br />
community directory of clubs,<br />
community organisations<br />
and continuing education<br />
course providers in the greater<br />
Christchurch area.<br />
Established by Christchurch<br />
City Libraries in 1981, CINCH<br />
is an excellent resource,<br />
which includes more than<br />
5,800 listings offering day<br />
and night courses in arts<br />
and crafts, music and dance,<br />
languages and cultural studies,<br />
occupational training, personal<br />
development, sports and<br />
recreation, and also includes<br />
a comprehensive list of citizen<br />
and consumer agencies.<br />
All listings provide detailed<br />
information, including course<br />
details, location and maps,<br />
course tutors and contact<br />
details, and links to further<br />
information.<br />
Improve your career<br />
prospects or explore a change<br />
in career direction by taking<br />
one of the diverse occupational<br />
courses on offer. Employers<br />
are often willing to invest in<br />
the continuing education of<br />
their employees, so it pays to<br />
ask and they may be happy<br />
to pay for training. There are<br />
also many on-line training<br />
programmes available through<br />
a number of educational<br />
institutions.<br />
Boost your confidence,<br />
improve your health, and<br />
increase your energy levels<br />
by joining a sports club or<br />
participating in one-on-one<br />
recreational activities. With<br />
winter just around the corner,<br />
why not join an indoor sports<br />
team and explore a new<br />
pursuit, which could become<br />
a life long passion while you<br />
widen your social circle.<br />
Seeking a thrill and a<br />
little adventure, why not<br />
try abseiling, caving, motor<br />
sports, hunting, flight training,<br />
kite surfing, or paragliding?<br />
Improve your fitness in a fun,<br />
non-competitive environment<br />
by becoming part of a social<br />
sports team (either mixed or<br />
single sex teams) in a number<br />
of team sports like basketball,<br />
cricket, hockey, netball,<br />
roller derby, rugby, or soccer.<br />
Prefer one-on-one training to<br />
achieve your personal best?<br />
There are many opportunities<br />
to improve your skills and<br />
challenge your limitations with<br />
personal coaching available<br />
across a number of recreational<br />
activities.<br />
Those with mental or<br />
physical disabilities are also<br />
catered for with the likes of<br />
basketball, tennis, and rugby<br />
for those in wheelchairs,<br />
and a wide range of social<br />
sporting activities for those<br />
with other impairments,<br />
including archery, blokarting,<br />
sailing, bowling, cycling, judo,<br />
swimming, running, and even<br />
fencing, to name just a few.<br />
Personal development<br />
courses offer a large choice<br />
of topics for exploration,<br />
including achievement<br />
motivation, bible studies and<br />
spirituality, communication,<br />
creative, travel, and fiction<br />
writing, driver education,<br />
employment re-entry, goal<br />
setting, life skills, mentoring<br />
in business, phobias,<br />
self-confidence, stress<br />
management, and general wellbeing,<br />
alongside many others.