Dandenong Neighbourhood House has seen a 75 per cent increase in enrolments and programs in the past 18 months.
This is a wonderful effort by the committed staff and tutors who deliver vital programs to the diverse ethnic communities within the city.
Manager Robyn Coslovich said training hours have been quadrupled.
In 2012 Dandenong Neighbourhood house delivered 3000 training hours.
By the end of term one this year, 12,570 will have been delivered.
I was impressed to hear from Robyn that in 2014 Dandenong Neighbourhood House is using 11 venues to meet demand including Wallara, Dandenong Primary School, Dandenong West Primary School, the Salvation Army, Avocare, the Uniting Church, Cornerstone, Wise Employment, Ermha and Good Money.
“With their support we have been able to go where the people are to deliver training,” Robyn said.
“These community partnerships have been invaluable to us and have contributed to our growth.
“We thank them for their support and belief in our goals and aims.”
In the past 12 months, Robyn and her team have successfully sourced $100,000 of alternative funding and this year Robyn said they will be developing corporate sponsorship programs to give local businesses and organisations another avenue to support the house’s work.
Volunteers have increased from three to 35 delivering approximately 7000 volunteer hours.
Any businesses looking for volunteering opportunities for their staff are encouraged to contact Dandenong Neighbourhood House.
Robyn said: “2014 has already got off to a flying start and is shaping up to be another big year.
“So, if anyone out there has an idea for a program they might like to participate in please come and talk to us.”
SIR HUGH
I hope readers are enjoing the return of the “chat” column It’s None of Our Business But… in the Journal.
We used to run this column in the days when legendary crime reporter Hugh Buggy was on our staff at Number 1 Scott Street.
‘Sir High’, as we fondly knew him, often came to the home of my first husband, Ron Stork, and I and I always cooked him lamb and roast vegetables with he enjoyed.
He lived alone with his treasured cat and his typewriter in an inner Melbourne suburb and often spoke of the Pyjama Girl murder at Albury, which he had reported on for a Melbourne newspaper.
Hugh and I had great fun filling the column with snippets from around the district so it’s great to hear that None of Our Business But… is one of the most widely read sections of the Journal since its relauch in September.
BLOKES DAY OUT
Springvale SES members were up and about on Sunday 23 March, supporting the men’s health cause at the Australian Street Rod Federation’s Blokes Day Out at Sandown Racecourse.
The Blokes Day Out will be an annual event with all money raised this year being donated to a variety of men’s health support organisations.
SES members appreciated getting out in their orange uniforms to engage with the community, particularly as it has been a relatively uneventful operationally over the past few weeks.
Caulfield MP David Southwick was a welcome visitor at the SES display.
As Parliamentary Secretary for Police and Emergency Services, David has a keen interest in getting younger volunteers into the emergency services.
Springvale controller Phil Holt, who runs the SES cadet program at McClelland College in Frankston, was keen to share his thoughts with David.
