Christmas has come early for Cosmos clients with a love for fishing, who were today presented
with 40 sets of fishing gear (including boxes, rods and tackle) by the Australian National
Sportfishing Association (ANSA).
Cosmos is an award-winning community organisation offering learning and leisure opportunities
for people with developmental disabilities in southern Tasmania.
As part of the donation ANSA will also provide visits to a private fishery, giving clients involved in
the Cosmos sport and leisure program an opportunity to get outdoors and fish for trout.
Cosmos CEO Catherine Viney said the donation would be particularly beneficial for those clients
whose funding provided them with a choice of disability services.
“One of our clients Elaine Parsons spends four days a week with us and her funding gives her
one-on-one support from a Cosmos employee,” Ms Viney said.
“This gives Elaine some flexibility with the programs she chooses to be involved in as well as an
opportunity to make choices based on her own individual interests.
“One of the activities Elaine regularly chooses to participate in is fishing, so it will be a fantastic
opportunity for her to not only use this new equipment to put her current skills to the test, but
also to further develop them in this area.”
ANSA Tasmania President Thomas Crawford said fishing was a great leveller and the ANSA team
and their families were very happy to be able to do something to assist in bringing the joy of
fishing to people in the community that may otherwise find it more difficult to participate.
“ANSA Tasmania members give regularly to various organisations and have really gotten behind
the idea of partnering with Cosmos,” Mr Crawford said.
The generous donation, which includes 20 fishing sets for adults and 20 for children, was raised
through ANSA savings and various fundraising activities, with support from ANSA partners
including Wilson Tackle Australia.
Cosmos Inc
