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‘Looking for a job? There are over 600 local jobs on the Geelong Careers website. It is free and easy to use. Our catch cry is “Helping the Geelong Region to make informed career decisions”. Our aim is to find locals, local job opportunities and ‘Experience for Work.’ We hear from Marianne Messer who managers the initiative, she saw a need for this when working at Deakin University as a Lecturer. ‘Geelong Careers is an information network. Easily accessible, Geelong Careers are opening doors, in one spot we have all the resources a job seeker could need. Geelong is transforming from a Manufacturing hub to new dynamic trending industries. We build partnerships.

‘We’ve divided careers into 9 categories. We’ve collected Stats, key sector trends, on each category, so job seekers can see how many jobs locally there are in their chosen field; the growth in the last 5 years; predicted growth over 5 years and average weekly wage.

Continue reading “Geelong Careers, Marianne” →

Free food for the needy! ‘The Geelong Food Relief Centre provides a facility where those living in a variety of difficult circumstances can receive a range of free food. Our clients are referred to the centres in North Geelong and Geelong CBD via local welfare agencies. We are the second largest regional food bank operation for emergency food relief in Victoria.’ We hear from Collin Peebles GFRC CEO.

‘There are over 90 volunteers attached to the facility. Last year I nominated one of our longstanding volunteers, Stephen Spoors, for the Kardinia Rotary Club ‘Volunteer of the Year Award’ which I am proud to say he received. I’ve done a lot of volunteering over the years myself and have worked with many volunteers and Stephen’s dedication stood out. He is one for putting those in need well before himself, regardless of the weather or other circumstances. He is the sort of volunteer who also makes the place tick behind the scenes by using his leadership skills to co-ordinate many volunteers who work at the North Geelong Centre. He is focused on providing the very best service while creating a compassionate and dignified environment for those requiring emergency relief.

Continue reading “Geelong Food Relief Centre, Collin” →

An exciting new networking opportunity has opened up for Not-For-Profits to join local Business Network International (BNI Australia) groups for free thanks to the intuitive of Braith Bamkin, Executive Director – BNI Melbourne Central, West & Geelong. I caught up with Braith to find out more.

‘Last year one of the Executive Directors from BNI in the United States trialed free membership for Not-For-Profits. It was a real win win situation. It was found by bringing in the Not-For-Profits they were able to tap into the business world, an area they don’t often tap into. By bringing the two communities together they both benefited.

Continue reading “BNI Not-For-Profit Opportunities, Braith” →

‘I remember in the mid 60’s, when Mum, Zillah Crawcour, was the Mayor of the City of Newtown, she was invited to the Geelong State Government Offices opening (hangover house). On entry the officials told her ‘We didn’t realise you were a woman. You will be embarrassed as all the other guests are men.’ My mother very sternly told them she would not be embarrassed as this happened on many occasions! Then later when they offered that she eat her dinner in a separate room, she and her fellow councillor walked out. Since then promoting equality and promoting female councillors has been my life’s work.

‘WILD stands for Women in Local Democracy, we support Women’s participation and leadership in all walks of life. We endorse gender equity, diversity and active citizenship, the three principles of the Victorian Local Government Women’s Charter.’

Continue reading “WILD – Women in Local Democracy, Priscilla” →

 

A Dose of Local Democracy – I run a democratic reform foundation. A lot of people around the world complain about how we do democracy today, so we try new things to see if they earn public trust. The Local Government Minister is making an announcement about the State Government’s response to the Geelong Citizens’ Jury’s recommendations on Saturday morning at 10am (Geelong Library and Heritage Centre ‘The Dome’ if anyone wants to come along!)

When the council here was dismissed by the state parliament we were asked for advice as to what approach to take to restoring democracy in Geelong. We suggested that the best people to decide that were a random sample of local people of all ages given the time and information to see if they could find agreement among themselves. This became the Geelong Citizens’ Jury.

Continue reading “Dose of Local Democracy, Iain” →

‘I lost a relative to heroin. It came with no warning. Bang!  They were gone. That’s why I joined ‘Our Town’s Ice Fight’. After the attack in the Bourke St. Mall, we are all reminded of the heartbreak Ice can cause’. I’m interviewing Ian Campbell, the Geelong Community Drug Action Group’s treasurer and representative from Rotary along with the group’s President, Peter Hester.

‘Our mantra is Prevention through awareness and education. We formed to tackle the crisis around Ice in the Geelong and Barwon region. The group’s aim is to unite the local community to address the impact of substance abuse. We are assisted by police, businesses and employers and see ourselves as ‘enablers’ supporting our local best practise service providers in the provision of drug counselling, rehabilitation and support services.

Continue reading “Our Town’s Ice Fight, Ian and Peter” →

‘My sister Alisha took her own life in 2008, at age 27. She was a bright bubbly person and her death was a massive shock to her friends and family. Nine years later, I’m proud to be fronting the Support After Suicide Service (SAS) Geelong region. The service was formed after a need was seen for suicide specific bereavement support in the Geelong region. Loss as a result of suicide is a unique type of grieving process, there is another layer to the experience when faced with loss due to a sudden death and this is even more so with suicide’.  We’re talking to Melinda Hopper, who has a background in mental health, the group’s newly appointed community development coordinator.

Photo: Annie (on the left) and Melinda

Continue reading “Support After Suicide, Melinda” →