Walk into 33 Station Road, Foster, on any given day and you might find someone getting help with Centrelink, a playgroup in full swing, or soup on the stove for the Community Cafe. It’s a vibrant, busy community hub that supports the community in a wide variety of ways. Manna Gum Community House is a not-for-profit, community owned organisation. A board of local people governs it, and the people it serves across Corner Inlet shape its direction.
At its heart is an open door. As a Services Australia Agency, Manna Gum helps people connect with Medicare, Centrelink and other government services. Staff and volunteers also help with the growing list of things that can only be done online, from applying for a birth certificate or passport to a Working With Children Check.
The House is a home base for community life. It provides space for community groups and a playgroup, and a private room where visiting support services can see clients locally. Its well-equipped kitchen is available for private hire, and the team caters for local events and workshops.
Volunteers offer one-on-one adult literacy and English as an Additional Language support for new arrivals to the community. The food pantry, Community Cafe and monthly Community Lunch provide a meal and a friendly face. Throughout the year, the House also hosts community celebrations, gatherings and events.
Manna Gum’s reach goes well beyond Foster. For nine years, it has kept the Toora Hub running on independent funding, in partnership with Toora Primary School. The Hub is a weekly gathering and playgroup for local parents and young children. Manna Gum also works with regional partners such as the Bass Coast South Gippsland Food System Alliance on bigger-picture systemic issues like local food security.
Manna Gum runs on a shoestring budget with a small paid team, working 113 hours a week between them. Volunteers add another 102 hours a week, close to half of everything that happens at the House. Their time is worth more than $260,000 a year to the community, and the broad range of services and programs simply wouldn’t be possible without them.
“We draw on the skills and input of a wide variety of volunteers from right across Corner Inlet, and that diversity is what makes us strong,” says Manager Bec Matthews. “Helping out doesn’t have to be a big commitment. A few hours a week, a one-off project or a couple of days a year all make a real difference. You’ll be joining a great team in a welcoming place, and we have a lot of fun along the way. It’s also a chance to learn new skills, and we offer training, mentoring and professional development opportunities to our volunteers.”
Manna Gum would love help in a variety of areas, including gardening and lawnmowing outside; cooking and washing dishes in the kitchen; unloading food pallets and driving food relief; in art, design, craft and other creative skills; customer and community support; and finance, governance and HR. Even an hour or two of expertise can go a long way for a small organisation. Manna Gum is also recruiting new youth workers for Our Place, its free youth space for young people aged 12 and over. See the advertisement in this edition for details.
To find out more, drop in to 33 Station Road, Foster, call 5682 1101 or email office@mgch.org.au.
