Communities at Work in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | Non-profit organisation

Communities at Work

Locality: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Phone: +61 2 6293 6500

Address: 245 Cowlishaw St 2900 Canberra, ACT, Australia

Website: http://commsatwork.org/

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• Non-profit organisation
• Charitable organisation
• Community organisation
• Community centre

25.01.2022 Communities@Work is proud to launch our latest Annual Report, which presents the impact our organisation has made in the Canberra community during 2019-2020. We invite you to browse our annual report with us on our website: https://www.commsatwork.org/about-us/annual-report-2019-20/ There were many events in the past year that we can look back over with great pride, from meeting the bushfire and COVID-19 challenges, to launching our Youth Advisory Board and launching our Rec...onciliation Action Plan, to winning the Large Employer of the Year Award at the ACT Training Awards for the second year in a row. So much happened across our services as our extraordinary staff and volunteers banded together to respond to the challenges of the year to support our Canberra community. Now, we look forward to 2021 with optimism. As Canberra’s largest not for profit organisation, Communities@Work is ready to face the challenges of an uncertain future. We are investing in our social infrastructure, which is vital for both the health of the economy and the wellbeing of our community. Perhaps never have our purpose and mission been more important and as we rebuild, we will be taking the opportunity to update systems and rethink outdated models. More investment in our community will not only improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of services but will help build a stronger, more resilient, better connected and more socially inclusive community in years to come. We hope you enjoy reading our Annual Report and reflecting on the year that has been, and looking forward to 2021 with us: https://www.commsatwork.org/about-us/annual-report-2019-20/ #AnnualReport #Corporate #Launch #CBRCommunity #socialimpactpact #CommunityOrganisation #ForPurpose #canberra

21.01.2022 Edward Mowat, professional street and graffiti artist was awarded a grant under the TCCS Graffiti program to paint a community-based mural. Communities@Work, together with TCCS and ACT Property Group, provided a 'canvas to enable this project. We absolutely loved your mural, Edward, and its connection to essential community services! Thank you so much for the fabulous piece of art Edward gained an interest in street art whilst in high school. He started by photographing ar...t around the neighbourhood and then soon after began doing his own street art. He has now been an active artist for over 20 years, painting locally and internationally. Edward's next project will be painting a car for Autism Awareness (so keep an eye out for a bright colourful car on the Canberra roads)! In response to the economic and social impacts of COVID-19, the TCCS Graffiti program acquired funding to support Canberra based street and graffiti artists from July-December 2020. Grants were delivered to successful professional street and graffiti artist applicants, one of which was Edward Mowat. Find out more about the initiative here: https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au//tccs-creative-endeavo Check out more of Edward's artwork here: Ed Mo Art #artwork #supportingthecommunity #mural #gungahlin @gungahlinarts #canberra #cbrcommunity #communitydevelopment

17.01.2022 Communities@Work Community Development Team is supporting SEE-Change Tuggeranong in organising their very first Tuggeranong Repair Cafe event! Come on down, learn new repair skills, and stay for a cuppa and a chat. Show up at the event (no booking needed) with your broken item, and the team will match it to one of their repairers. The repairing doesn't cost anything, and you are free to ask questions to learn what the repairer is doing. Since all repairers are volunteers, t...here's no warranty. Limits apply on how many items you bring in, so the repairers aren't swamped. The list of items that their army of repairers can fix is: - bicycles - clothing - textiles / material furnishings - bags / backpacks - electrical appliances (sorry no old CRT style TVs, or microwaves) - kitchen knives (max of 2) - Christmas lights - Garden solar lights WHEN: Sunday 29 November 2020 WHERE: Tuggeranong Community Centre, 245 Cowlishaw Street Greenway TIME: 1:00pm to 4:00pm For more information about SEE-Change, visit https://www.see-change.org.au/ #Tuggeranong #CBRCommunity #Community #CommunityDevelopment

16.01.2022 We're back with PART TWO of our interview with Kim Eason - Manager of Disability Programs at Communities@Work. Read on for insights into working in the disability sector, some memorable experiences from Kim's journey, and all about her Day in the Life Podcast AU as well as a first-hand account of what to expect from our disability programs. Thank you for sharing your story with us Kim. We're cheering you on your path to making a difference in the disability sector and the br...oader Canberra community! BLOG: https://www.commsatwork.org//making-a-difference-in-the-d/ #CBRCommunity #Canberra #Disability #disabilitysupport #disabilityawareness #disabilityservices #ourpeople #EmployeeSpotlight #blog #socialimpact

15.01.2022 Made your New Year Resolutions? If you’re looking for a meaningful resolution to add to your 2021 list, what about volunteering? Volunteering provides an opportunity for you to meaningfully participate in society, make new friends, expand your skills, build your self-esteem and confidence, and give back to your community. But don’t take it from us take it from one of our volunteers, Linda, at our Best Dressed Store: ... It’s nice to feel you’re giving something back. It makes you feel valued as well and helps you rebuild your sense of self-worth, particularly if you’ve given up work. And it’s nice to meet all the other volunteers they’re so lovely! Some of us have made new friends through volunteering at the shop and we go shopping, walking, and coffee together. It’s really widened our friendship circle. Linda is part of our much-loved family of volunteers who help us to provide vital community services to people in need. We couldn't do what we do without them. If you have a few spare hours a week and think you might like to join our volunteer family, find out more about volunteering opportunities at Communities@Work on our website: https://www.commsatwork.org/get-involved/volunteer/ We'd love to have you!!! :) #volunteer #volunteering #communityservice

15.01.2022 Calling all individuals in the Early Childhood Education and Care Sector! The Centre of Professional Learning and Education is holding its final professional development workshop for the year 2020 - Mandatory Reporting. During this session, you will be updated on the regulatory and legal requirements around reporting suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. You will learn the importance of ‘informed reporting’, what constitutes abuse and neglect and gain awareness of a co...mmunity approach to reporting abuse and neglect. The workshop links to NQS Quality Areas 2 and 5. Register now: https://events.humanitix.com/mandatory-reporting-dec #ChildrensServices #ChildCare #EarlyChildhood #EarlyEducation #EarlyLearning #Canberra

14.01.2022 HOORAY! Our community pantries are re-opening after a suspension due to COVID-19. These pantries have been an essential support service for the community for many years, providing basic food, household and personal care items for people who are struggling or experiencing hardship perhaps for the first time due to the impact of COVID-19. We have expanded both pantries into new locations within our two community centres, providing improved services and a more user-friendly ...experience for clients. Please spread the word!! Our Gungahlin Community Pantry reopens 23 November, and our Tuggeranong Community Pantry on 1 December. Opening hours are Mondays 12.30 3pm and Tuesdays - Fridays 9.00am 11.30am and 12.30pm-3pm. We will also continue providing free food hampers (packaged by the Canberra Relief Network team), and crisis support appointments. For more information please phone 6293 6500 or visit our website https://www.commsatwork.org/services/community/food-support/ #communitypantry #foodpantry

13.01.2022 Big shout out to Microsoft Canberra for their support across two days in creating a beautiful and safe outdoor garden space for our North Hub disability clients to relax in and enjoy outdoor activities. The wonderful vegetable boxes will provide valuable opportunities for them to develop skills in growing their own produce for the program. The outdoor tables and chairs look sparkling new after their sanding and varnishing (good enough for a Home and Garden magazine photo shoot ;), and the new colourful garden edging now bears the distinctive Microsoft 'stamp'! We loved having you, Microsoft Canberra, and loved your generosity and lovely company! #Microsoft #volunteering #ThankfulThursday

10.01.2022 As we kick off 2021, we'd like to share how we're looking forward and preparing for the future. The impact of COVID-19 will be felt for many months and years, exacerbating current issues and producing new and different challenges for our community. As we look to the future, perhaps never has the purpose and mission of Communities@Work been more important. ... We are significantly investing in our social infrastructure, which is vital for both the health of the economy and the wellbeing of our community; and we are committed to continuing our partnership with local businesses and community organisations to ensure we deliver the greatest outcomes for our community. Some of our investments for 2021 include: Food Pantries: We anticipate demand for our support services will increase over the next year, so we are expanding our community food pantries and associated support services in Gungahlin and Tuggeranong. Disability Services: We are upgrading our facilities and expanding our service offering in our disability programs in our northern and southern hubs. Community Development: Our Community Development team will be launching a new outreach program to empower residents to build community capacity and resilience. Galilee School: Our school is an essential partner to the ACT public school eco-system, providing education and support for young people who have disengaged from mainstream schooling. We are looking forward to extending our support of students with an expansion of the Galilee School to include a Senior Secondary College for Years 11 and 12. After a restful holiday season, we look forward to working with you and supporting you - the Canberra community - resuming operations from 4th January 2021. For more information on how we create a positive impact in the community, visit our website: commsatwork.org/annual-report

09.01.2022 Not only are Sanjay & Sunita at Daana Indian restaurant award-winning chefs, but they are kind-hearted and generous in spirit, always looking to help their local community. Last week they launched their Pay-it-Forward Karma Christmas Hamper initiative. Proceeds from the sale of the hampers will support the Canberra Hospital Foundation, while the hampers themselves will be delivered to Communities@Work during the Christmas week to spread joy to those in need. Thank you Sanjay... and Sunita!!! :) Find out more here: https://daanacatering.com.au/daana-s-karma-christmas-hamper #karmachristmasatdaana #daana_canberra #payitforward #CANGIVEDAY #CHF #Commsatwork #spreadjoy #christmas

09.01.2022 We’ve said it once and we will definitely say it a thousand more times: we are SO PROUD of our enthusiastic and committed team of 114 #volunteers, and their passion for helping us to help the Canberra community. Without them, we couldn’t do all that we do to help the vulnerable and the disadvantaged. So thank you team, for all your hard work over December to help make Christmas special for these people. (And of course, for all the rest of the year too!!) :) We've got some gr...eat new plans for 2021 and are excited about working together with our volunteers to bring them to life! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Here's to a smoother road ahead. :) #cbrcomm

08.01.2022 Several members of our staff, including our CEO Lee Maiden, had the privilege of attending a recent ACTCOSS - ACT Council of Social Service Inc. Aboriginal Art Workshop event at Burrunju Aboriginal Art Gallery. They learnt how to create and paint a design of traditional Aboriginal artwork using their handprints, dots and lines, and discussed the meanings of various symbols used in Aboriginal paintings. Thanks #ACTCOSS for organising this meaningful community activity to help... us learn more about Aboriginal art and celebrate Aboriginal culture in NAIDOC Week. #NAIDOCWeek2020

05.01.2022 Are you ready for the Summer School Holidays? YES! It's that time of the year again, and we're back with our Summer School Holiday Programs. Book NOW for 2020-21 School Holidays before spots run out!! Running 10 locations across Canberra - take your pick!... Reliable and friendly educators to support your child every step of the way Fun, engaging and safe environment for your children in this challenging time Holiday experience that delivers a new adventure every day and helps your children make new friends Variety of activities to cater to an array of interests (check out a SNEAK PEEK of what we've planned on our website) More Info: https://www.commsatwork.org//children-school-holiday-prog/ #schoolholidays #schoolholidayfun #schoolholidayprogram #summerholidays #holidaymood

04.01.2022 The children from Palmerston OSHC and Palmerston OSHC Pre-school participated in various #NAIDOCWeek2020 activities throughout the week, including yarning circles discussing the meaning of NAIDOC, exploring Aboriginal symbols in sand, dot painting and damper. Children Eoghan (Kindergarten) from the Awabakal tribe (Hunter Valley) and Natalie (Year 4) lead the singing of Inanay with the Palmerston OSHC pre-school students, with Aboriginal clapping sticks. Our superstar Palmers...ton team put together this video reflecting the activities and we couldn't be prouder! Great work Palmerston! Communities@Work recently launched its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) during #NAIDOCWeek. Have a look at our Reconciliation journey across the organisation here: Find out more about our RAP here: #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #NAIDOC

03.01.2022 Happy New Year 2021 to the Canberra community! We are proud to have stepped up to play a leading role in supporting the ACT community in 2020 and as we prepare for an uncertain future, we are focused on helping build a better future. We hope you're having a great break, and that you're stepping into 2021 with renewed joy, vigour and hope ... P.S. Have you read our blog on 2020 things we loved about 2020: https://www.commsatwork.org//20-things-we-loved-about-2020/ #happynewyear #happynewyear2021 #endofyear #canberra #canberracommunity #cbrcommunity #socialimpact #community

01.01.2022 Our Disability Programs' Southern Hub kicked off their new project last month - the SMALL TALK CAFE (previously called The Fluffy Grumble) The centre received a donation of a coffee machine and some beans which made the project possible. Michael (Mikey), a client from the Adults group, volunteered to be the first one to do the barista role and is leading the project. The cafe has now become a scheduled activity for the Adults and Young Adults clients, and is operating on t...he basis of gold coin donations. Earlier this month, a small workshop/training for all clients was conducted by staff with Michael as the trainer on how to make a coffee using the machine. Clients who were present enjoyed the workshop and some of them tried making the coffee as supervised by Michael and staff as well! We're so excited for our clients and hope the cafe continues to flourish! Great work team! #Disability #DisabilityAwareness #DisabilityPrograms