31st August 2006

The Queensland Government’s Gambling Community Benefit Fund provided $29,737 to the Northern Gold Coast Communities for Children for the purchase of a resources van.

Project Manager Margaret Spriggs applied for the funding to purchase a van with plans to install equipment and fittings that would not only provide transport for parents in need but to act as a mobile resource hub for parents and their children.

In 2004, Margaret and her team employed community members to become Community Researchers, and they spent six months researching the community’s needs and strengths. They discovered that there were few service providers in the community, and growth of service providers in the area had been limited by the lack of premises from which they can provide their services; not to mention inadequate transport to bring families to a central area.

“The mobile resource van will help address these problems, as it will bring services into the community and provide transport to bring families to centralised locations,” said Ms Spriggs.

With glaring deficits in public transport in the northern Gold Coast region, the van comes as a great relief not only to the Northern Gold Coast Communities for Children (NGCCFC), but to the local parents who will now have access to a toy and book library, family support and information from other local service providers.

Margaret says the van will also be used to transport families to the programs that NGCCFC offers and other events being held in their community.

“Not only will this van be a great nomadic resource, but it will be able to provide transport for families to assist them with everyday things like grocery shopping and attending appointments,” she said.

Plans for use of the van are as follows:

• Collecting donated second-hand books from community members to build the library bag program that operates from five playgroups and one parent drop-in centre (Coomera and Cedar Creek).
• Collecting second hand reconditioned computers for ‘Kids on the Net’ program.
• Collecting supplies from the food co-op Brisbane and distributing them to parents in hubs.
• Transporting supplies and community members to Volunteer Appreciation Dinner organised by the youth centre.
• Collecting new chairs and tables for the launch of Rage Teen Zone for the youth centre.
• Transporting young people to the live gig night.
• Distributing 3000 Living in the Northern Gold Coast welcome kits.
• To be used during the Ranges to River Annual Lantern festival in November.
• Collaboration with local children from schools and childcare centres to make lanterns with the Woodford folk festival group.
• Provide families who need transport to the festival as well as transporting lanterns for the final event.

Keep your eye out for the NGCCFC Van – it could be coming to a suburb near you!