By Casey Neill
Greater Dandenong’s five Community Hubs will share a $10,000 boost.
Intrapac Property presented the grant to Community Hubs Australia (CHA) at Dandenong West Primary School on Monday 21 August.
The cash will go towards child-minding and playgroups so migrant and refugee women can study.
The Greater Dandenong hubs are at the Dandenong South, Dandenong, Dandenong West, Springvale Rise and St Anthony’s primary schools and engaged 1600 families last year.
CHA chief operating officer Luke Atkin said the whole community hub model was predicated on partnerships.
“Every benefit that comes of these partnerships really does make a difference to the community,” he said.
He said supporting migrant women as they transitioned to life in Australia helped to embed them into their new community.
Intrapac Property chief operating officer Max Shifman said the developers Somerfield in Keysborough was an ethnically diverse community much like Dandenong West Primary, with residents from about 36 different nationalities.
He said he was a first generation Australian migrant, and he hoped the grant would help migrant women to participate in everything that makes Australia such a great place to live.
Four women who use the hub thanked Mr Shifman, telling him that the money would enable them to learn while their children had fun and prepared for kindergarten.
Dandenong West Primary principal Bev Hansen said the school’s hub opened in about 2014.
One third of her students are refugees.
She said schools were often the first point of contact for new arrivals to Australia.
Through its community hub, Dandenong West can connect parents to other services and reduce social isolation.
Visit www.communityhubs.org.au for more information.
