Our Community Enterprise
Up until December 2002 St Laurence Community Services and before them the Brotherhood of St Laurence managed a Material Aid outlet in Geelong called the “Big Bin”. The “Big Bin” provided goods on a limits basis to families and individuals who were in receipt of a Commonwealth Pension or Health Care Card. The service was based in the South Geelong area but served residents from the Barwon Region. It could provide to individual households, basic furniture which allowed families to move into properties with basic furniture while they got established.
MATERIAL
AID:
Material Aid is a form of Emergency Relief but is provided through donated goods such as clothing, furniture, kitchen utensils and general household goods. Material Aid is provided fee free. By providing necessary items for the formation of a home free to the individual or family they are able to use the income that is saved on other necessary items such as the connection of utilities and telephone, or pay outstanding debts.
A
Material Aid service can only operate if it has the support of the community.
It relies on Donations of unwanted furniture, kitchen items, crockery and bric-a-brac.
It has been found that people are more anxious to give if they know that the
goods will be passed onto individuals in need within the community for no charge.
In collecting donations there will always be a range of goods that are not needed
for the Material Aid outlet and these can be made available to sell off. This
has been traditionally done through the 
Opportunity
Shops. There is always another range of goods that even the opportunity shop
will find hard to move and these can be sold through a Rummage Sale type operation.
It has been found recently that with the increase in Garage Sales and Weekend
Markets there are people seeking out new sources of goods. It is quite surprising
what people will buy.
The other source of disposal of donations is through converting them to other
uses. For example dressing tables without mirrors can be converted into television
& video stands or computer desks, old stainless steel bottling boilers can
be converted into pot plant holders with a bit of folk art work. Crockery can
be sold off to craft groups for mosaics. The uses are only limited by the imagination
of the people in the program.
Donations:
Donations can be made by calling 5272 2771 for free pick up or taking them to CREATE@work Rodney Rd, North Geelong.
Who can use the service:
- Individuals from the Northern suburbs of Geelong, these being Norlane and Corio, and those residing within other Geelong areas who are the recipients of works under Neighbourhood Renewal and Community Building Initiatives
- Exiting Community Jobs Program participants from past, present and potentially present Neighbourhood Renewal and from all associated areas
- Young people who are still engaged within the mainstream school environment
- Young people participating within the Youth Pathways Program
- Low income families and individuals
- Retrenched individuals
- Retired individuals
- Young people not engaged in day programs and those in residential care settings
- People with disabilities and those participating in Futures for Young Adults
- Community volunteers
- Other individuals as deemed appropriate for inclusion within the enterprise
CAR DETAILING SERVICE:
This services consists of 2 main components
Long-term opportunities also exist for work experience for school students; CREATE your Futures and further development of partnerships with secondary schools in the northern suburbs.
HOUSING BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
SCOPE OF
WORKS
The scope of works includes current activities under CJP. The scope of works allows
for the employment of up to 5 employees including an employed CREATE supervisor
position and under the model identified that provides for transition to the private
and government sector in terms of longer employment.
The scope of works
project covers the northern suburbs of Geelong and other areas within the Geelong
region identified by the Office of Housing that are within the charter of Neighbourhood
Renewal.
The scope of works includes but is not limited to:
• Removal of existing wing fencing
• Erection of new wing fencing
• Erection of front fences and gates
• Associated concrete works
• Landscaping as presented in this Strategic Plan for contracted works
FUTURE ADDITIONAL
WORKS
Additional and considered works of maintenance and minor building also include
the following:
• Repairs to door locks
• Erection of garden sheds
• Concreting of pathways and driveway aprons
• Rehanging of internal and external doors
• Any other minor works as identified by the Office of Housing as appropriate
to CREATE’s scope of works and qualifications of staff, supervisors and
contractors
EMPLOYMENT
MODEL
The employment model for individuals includes the identified target groups and
incorporates the following considerations
• CREATE provides direct supervision to contracted staff as per the CJP
model
• Employment of individuals is under a contract arrangement. Individuals
will register an ABN number and whilst being employed in this project they will
receive basic training in business management using NEIS as a template and with
additional training provided by CREATE
• Contracted individuals are from the targeted groups from within this overall
enterprise
• Contracted individuals are given supported transitions to other employment
opportunities and is supported by CREATE’s Participant Support Worker
• The transition model provides 10 employment places per year in this section
of the enterprise
• The transition model will also recognise the generic skills development
of contracted individuals beyond the Community Jobs Program
• The transition model will encourage self employment and full-time employment
in various local industries beyond the time spent in the enterprise
SCHOOL
BASED NEW APPRENTICESHIPS – BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION
BACKGROUND
CREATE (Geelong) Inc is a provider of services under the Traineeship and Apprenticeship
Placement Program and acts as a Registered Training Organisation across a wide
range of vocational streams. A major component of CREATE’s delivery to trainees
is within the Building and Construction industry where the organisation has developed
networks with local employers.
OVERVIEW
CREATE delivers
a Building and Construction School Based New Apprenticeship (SBNA) program with
a minimum of 10 participants. The enterprise centre is used for the following
activities
• Infrastructure building
• Training for participants within the SBNA program
• Utilisation of the facility for assessment purposes
HORTICULTURE AND OUTDOOR WORKS
BACKGROUND
CREATE has an extensive history in the delivery of horticultural programs to the Geelong community especially in the northern suburbs and to the City of Greater Geelong, the City of Dandenong, the City of Kingston and Jesuit Social Services community building programs.
OBJECTIVE
The overall purposes
of the enterprise is to create a program in horticulture training that is holistic
and is also a meaningful community activity. The activity aligns itself to contracted
works within the proposed Office of Housing model and provides
for the propagation and supply of native plants and trees for the local area.
This program incorporates CREATE’s Horticultural Unit at Gateway Reserve
which is in close proximity to the enterprise site. The following table outlines
all potential stakeholders and cross-sector benefits for development over the
next 3 years.
IDENTIFIED STAKEHOLDERS
| Stakeholder | Benefits to stakeholder | Benefits to CREATE | Benefits to the community |
|
CREATE |
Improved training and generation of income | Improve training and create an income | Real job training and enhanced employment potential and pathways |
| Department of Human Services Office of Housing | Right plants, right price and enhance the appearance of building stock | Potential for a cost effective method of supply of stock for enterprise activities | Improves the attractiveness of homes |
| Sustainable Energy Authorities | Lower water usage and sustainability | Stronger partnerships and enhanced community awareness | Lower water usage and cost savings |
| City of Greater Geelong | The plant will be appropriate for many of the city sites, which in the past were plants of poor quality and harder to obtain | Income and potential to be involved with placement of plants in city sites | Very completive pricing and the money is maintained within the local community |
| Barwon Water | Save water, demonstrate to the community that you can grow plants using little water | Improved community awareness and stronger partnership with Barwon water | Smarter water usage, lower water usage and cost savings |
| Local Communities | Low price plants, information on saving water, better training, improved streetscapes and water conservation | An enhanced method of promoting training in the local community | Low price plants, information on saving water, better training, improved streetscapes and cost savings |
