Eastern FM is based at the Wyreena Community Arts Centre and broadcasts on 98.1 FM throughout Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

This morning I was invited to discuss Maroondah’s youth services and the many activities that are available for younger people, between the ages of 12 and 25 years, within Maroondah. While the youth services team may not have the profile of other council activities, Maroondah offers a range of unique and positive experiences for the many young people within our municipality. It was great to have an opportunity to raise awareness of these many activities on the eastern suburbs local radio station, Eastern FM.

EV’s, Maroondah’s Youth Centre, is based at 212 Mount Dandenong Road in Croydon (near the corner of Main Street and Mount Dandenong Road) and is a five minute walk from Croydon station and the bus interchange.

EV’s Youth Centre operates as a drop-in centre each Friday during the school term between 3:30 and 5:30 pm and includes a range of activities, including a jukebox, pool table, free Internet access and Xbox. Youth workers are also available on these Fridays, as well as Wednesdays between 1 and 5:30pm to provide advice and assistance for younger people.

Upcoming events include Metalfest on the 9th of May which is organised by Maroondah’s FreeZA group. FreeZA are responsible for organising a number of musical arts as part of the EV’s program.

Following the success of last year’s event, the Snippets Youth Short Festival will be held in September and registrations are now open. Snippets provides an opportunity for young film makers to showcase their productions at Hoyts in Eastland.

New to this year is the Youth Performing Arts Program, where young people will design their own production and perform it to the community later on this year. Participants will be able to undertake a range of tasks within the production, including on-stage and backstage roles.

It was great to be able to discuss Maroondah’s youth services on Eastern FM on the Friday morning program with Russ Read and Norm. Eastern FM provides a tremendous community service in promoting local events and discussing Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

For more information on Eastern FM please visit www.easternfm.com.au. For details on EV’s Youth Centre and Maroondah Youth Services please visit www.evsyouthcentre.com or contact 9298 4373.