Excitement is building for the Grand Launch in Veterans Health Week on Saturday 16 October and all the planning is coming along nicely. We have added a testimonials page, seeing what clients, customers, visitors think is what keeps us going. We had a very successful day Chalking about Mental Health and the evidence is still all over the concrete at Home Base. We've been working closely with Rotary Club of Townsville Sunrise and they are sponsoring a few veterans to learn and build a BBQ furniture set for us at Studio Dubbeld, which has also been a strong supporter. And we are honoured to be the hosts of the Coolest Book Fair in Townsville on 27 November conducted by the very successful BrothersNBooks.

We are putting the final touches to the planning for our Grand Launch on Saturday 16 October at Home Base. We are expecting to unveil a significant artwork that is being produced especially for The Oasis Townsville. We will launch a smartphone app, especially so you can order ahead for coffee! It will be a real family day as we consider all of the family including your friends to be members of the veteran community in Townsville. We want to show all of Townsville how much we appreciate their efforts to support us. Our Patron Brigadier Kahlil Fegan DSC and Mayor Jenny Hill will cut the ribbon.

Although we are devoting significant effort to collecting the data to ensure we provide the best service and the service that is most needed, we have also been impressed with the anecdotal stuff. Check out our Testimonials Page on the website to see some. We gather them from Google, social media, the website, our feedback form and some plain old emails too. These are important to us as they keep us motivated to keep up the hard work knowing what we are doing is valued and worthwhile.

Our Chalk About Mental Health Day last month was a great hit with more than 50 people turning up over the course of the few hours to draw all over our concrete paths and on Staging Camp Ave. Some of it is so good we will paint it on permanently.

We've been looking for suitable BBQ furniture for a while and found a partner to not only help us get it but fund a few veterans to learn the woodwork techniques required, and to make it. A win-win. With the help of funding from the Rotary Club of Townsville Sunrise, we'll build the furniture over the next few months at Studio Dubbeld on Bundock Street. Studio Dubbeld have previously sponsored The Oasis with proceeds from their annual BBQ and they have a few veterans on the books learning all sorts of woodwork. Rotary Club of Townsville Sunrise has undertaken to partner on an ongoing basis with The Oasis Townsville in the same way Lambert Fresh Produce did last month.

On 27 November you will not recognise Home Base as the entire facility will be turned over to BrothersNBooks for Townville's Coolest Book Fair. We've begun collecting books now and storing them and they are pouring in. We hope to make this an annual event.