By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
SOME unlikely saviours are mending Cornerstone Contact Centre’s disrepaired building in Dandenong.
Workers John Harraghy and Gordon Kirkpatrick of Dandenong steel sheet processor Impact Steel have volunteered to tackle maintenance jobs that have lingered on the centre’s ‘to-do’ list.
Last month, the pair with the help of a volunteer from John Kelly Plumbing and Journal photographer Wayne Hawkins installed a shiny splashback behind the kitchen sink.
Next on the agenda will be patching up broken windows, saving the cash-strapped centre $600, as well as rummaging up new pots and pans. Other tasks include painting, plastering and repairing the centre’s gym roof and lighting.
Mr Harraghy, a processing team leader, said there was a strong community ethos — “as a big company, we help out where we can”.
Cornerstone co-ordinator Don Cameron said Mr Harraghy and Mr Kirkpatrick just “turned up one day on the doorstep” offering their services. Their intervention was something of a god-send to the centre — which had hit a $30,000 budget black hole delivering free twice-weekly lunches and social programs for 2012-13.
Other charities and businesses have brought relief. Rotary and Lions clubs and a church charity program Power to Change have kicked in $2500 and Australian Tax Office staff are cooking free monthly breakfasts at the centre.
Pastor Cameron hopes to raise funds for a commercial-quality oven for its mainly-volunteer staff to cook meals for up to 90 people. “As a kitchen staff they’re the hardest working people.”
To help at Cornerstone, email Don Cameron on donindandenong@netscape.net.
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