Posted by Alex Marshall
We were fortunate to have Mike Englefield, President of the Eltham Rotary Club and Paul Nitas, a Director of Power Assist to speak about this programme which has been running for more than 20 years. It arose as an initiative from some members of the Power House organization and hence the name, Power Assist, which does not indicate that the players have mechanical aids such as wheelchairs.
 
The aim of Power Assist is to enhance the well-being and self-esteem of individuals with intellectual and physical disability through involvement in sport, namely basketball.  
 
Mike Engfield, Alex Marshall, President Teresa Liu, Paul Nitas
The organization is entirely voluntary. Both speakers eloquently described their involvement and the obvious benefits to the participants who would otherwise have very limited access to play team sport.

MLC have been very generous and provided access to their basketball courts which are a relatively scarce resource, given the demand for such facilities, across Melbourne. Mike and is wife have assisted for the past 7-8 years. Their role has been to open the courts on a Friday evening and set up for games before the players arrive. However, there is also a requirement for scorers and referees to help.
 
A number of members spoke with Mike and Paul after their presentation and hopefully some volunteers may come forward.