Collingwood Yards

Aug 11, 2021 | Community and cultural development

Enterprise name Collingwood Yards

What’s the trading activity We are a precinct that provides affordable spaces to arts and community organisations in the inner north of Melbourne. We host a range of businesses, mostly not for profit and our role is to sustain and support the fifty small and medium sized organisations that we accommodate.

hat is the biggest challenge?

Our challenge is to resist the gentrification that is taking over our suburb and surrounds, and to ensure that communities and artists retain a voice in the culture of our neighbourhood. The challenge is to make our spaces as accessible as possible, so that everyone feels at home there.

What is your hope for the future?

Our hope is for our community to flourish and to retain the mix of socially engaged tenants so that we serve as a model that others can emulate to create additional spaces across Melbourne and Australia.

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Clann Australia Pty Ltd

Clann Australia Pty Ltd

Jan 20, 2021 | Community and cultural development

Enterprise name: Clann Australia Pty Ltd 

What’s the trading activity? 

Our customers are the millions of families that still rely on friends, neighbors, extended family, work colleagues and others to help provide informal care for children, elderly and family members with a disability that for one reason or another are left behind by government subsidised care services.

We upskill some of these informal carers and turn their care experience into small businesses on our platform providing a higher standard of informal care to other families in their communities in home based settings. We provide access to an innovative platform, entry level induction programs, pathways to higher qualifications and a range of support resources and information.

Our social enterprise purpose is to create new pathways to employment delivering essential services that help reduce the risks of disadvantage.

What is the biggest challenge?

We are currently inducting family carers for families needing care and support for children, elderly and those with a disability.

Like every two sided marketplace it is a challenge to build up families on one side without having carers on the other and vice versa.

However as the impact of COVID-19 becomes more evident on the employment market we are seeing more interest in the opportunities we offer to set up and operate a genuine small business on our platform where carers are very well supported and can choose their hours, rates, services and family clients.

What is your hope for the future?

Our hope for the future is to build the levels of community interest and support needed to create a higher standard of informal care nationally for families left behind by existing services, effectively revillaging our society where families are properly supported to care for families in home based settings.

Go to clann.com.au

Lively

Lively

Oct 13, 2020 | Community and cultural development, Personal and social care

Enterprise name: Lively

What’s the trading activity? 

We train and employ young jobseekers aged 18-25 to offer a range of social and practical support services for older community members. These services include home care, technology help, gardening and most recently a range of remote supports through the COVID-19 outbreak.

How are you going with the work?

Obviously, 2020 has been a tough year! We work with two beneficiary groups that have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak; young people (who have lost employment in key industries such as retail and hospitality), and older people (who are at high risk from the virus and have been especially isolated). In this context, we’ve had to pivot our strategy towards the delivery of a range of remote supports during this time, and some of our other plans have been pushed back, but what’s been really pleasing is that we’ve actually been able to expand our overall reach and impact during this time. We’re really excited about exploring how we can sustain some of the relationships and connections forged during this time to accelerate our growth and impact as we move out of lockdown!

What is your hope for the future?

We know that Australia’s population is ageing, and that the aged care workforce isn’t growing fast enough to keep up with demand. We also know that a large proportion of the jobs that young people currently rely on for entry level experience are at high risk of automation and change in the coming decades. In this context, our hope and goal is to build a community where supporting older people to live well and stay connected has become a mainstream employment opportunity for young people – just as retail and hospitality are today. In this vision:

– Young people will have access to meaningful and rewarding employment;
– Older people will have access to the support they need to keep enjoying life; and
– Older people will have the space to share their experience and wisdom back with the young – supporting young people’s development and fostering a renewed sense of value for our older community members.

Go to lively.org.au

Food Next Door

Food Next Door

Jul 6, 2020 | Community and cultural development, Food and beverage products

Enterprise name  Food Next Door Co-op

What’s the trading activity 

We operate Out of the Box, a weekly local produce box scheme of 100% local produce grown to organic and regenerative practices. Approximately 80 households in Sunraysia currently subscribe to Out of the Box.

What’s the social or environmental cause your enterprise addresses?

Out of the Box supports small-scale farmers; we guarantee a minimum 50% return from each box directly to local farmers. We donate $1 from every box directly to support an intern in our on-farm training program for new migrant farmers. Remaining profits are re-invested in Food Next Door’s Community Demonstration Farm to build community and sustainable local economies through food.

How are you going with the work?

Since COVID-19 restrictions we have seen a 30% increase in weekly sales. We were able to respond quickly by increasing plantings at our community farm and supporting our small-scale farmers to increase plantings on their farms too. So far our supply is keeping up (more or less) with demand and we hope to continue building our customer base.

Go to  foodnextdoor.org.au

Mosaik Experiences

Mosaik Experiences

May 21, 2020 | Community and cultural development

Enterprise name  Mosaik Experiences

What’s the trading activity  Mosaik Experiences is a social enterprise that aims to inspire a sense of community and belonging, by blending the power of arts and culture.

We provide unique, authentic, memorable and participative cultural experiences which include music, dance, art & crafts, language and food, perfect for lifestyle programs and celebrations at aged care facilities, disability and senior groups.

Our workshops, programs and entertainment generate opportunities for enjoyment, welcoming and inclusive environment and, at the same time, creates a connection among the participants.

As a social enterprise, we generate job opportunities for migrants who are part of the team performing and facilitating the experiences. We also support social programs for seniors and people with disabilities at community houses.

Our vision is a happier, more inclusive and more connected society.

What’s the social or environmental cause your enterprise addresses?

We exist to address cultural and social isolation in Australia, particularly with migrants, older adults and people with disabilities.

Go to   mosaikexperiences.com.au

Sister Works

Sister Works

May 8, 2020 | Community and cultural development

Enterprise name SisterWorks

What’s the trading activity?

SisterWorks is a not-for-profit social enterprise, based in Melbourne. Through work and entrepreneurship, our mission is to support women who are refugees, asylum seekers or migrants to improve their confidence, mental wellbeing and sense of belonging.

Our Vision: An Australia where all migrant women are given the opportunities to become economically empowered.

We function as an enterprise by selling ethical and sustainable products that are handmade my our migrant, refugee and asylum seeker Sisters in weekly workshops. These workshops develop their professional skills to increase opportunity for employment and education. At least 50% of the profit from each sale goes directly to the Sister that makes it.

We are based in Melbourne, with two stores, one in Richmond and the other in South Yarra.

What is your hope for the future?

We hope to expand our model to reach migrant, refugee and asylum seeker women all across Australia. We want to go to them rather then depending on the women to come to us.

How are you going with the work?

Our model of work has shifted greatly, given the current Covid situation. Our sales are now all online, with our retail stores closing face to face contact.

As our Empowerment hubs and shops have suspended face to face contact, we have shifted online and we are using creativity to move forward. Our highest priority is to keep our Sisters engaged and economically empowered. We decided that if our Sisters cannot come to us, we can go to them using technology and visiting them in their homes. To do this we are embracing our ‘learning by doing’ approach and implementing a proactive, remote activities model.

To maintain engagement with our Sisters in an environment of physical distancing, we have started e-classes and created individual support plans for each Sister. Our regular skill development workshops are still functioning via live, video meetings on a weekly basis. All of the resources, materials and instructions are delivered directly to our Sisters’ homes using the necessary precautions around physical distancing. We want our Sisters to continue to be engaged and each week we aim to involve more and more Sisters.

Go to website