Tara Murray
Community groups and local organisations have been recognised for the impact they have on Brimbank as part of the We Are Brimbank awards.
Brimbank council held an online awards ceremony last week, to celebrate those who are making a positive difference to Brimbank.
Friends of the H V McKay Memorial Gardens and Utsav Melbourne Association shared the culture, arts and tourism award which recognises the outstanding contribution to the rich cultural, heritage, tourism and artistic fabric of the Brimbank community.
The Friends of the H V McKay Memorial Gardens was established in 2007 to promote the restoration and maintenance of Brimbank’s only heritage-listed gardens.
Utsav Melbourne Association (UMA) is a vibrant Bengali/Indian community charity with people coming together from varied professional backgrounds to promote and celebrate their culture and traditions.
During the pandemic, UMA has delivered food to people impacted adversely; including the homeless.
Café Sunshine & SalamaTea won the employment and enterprise award for their cafe which has created a thriving and sustainable social enterprise that supports refugees, asylum seekers and recent migrants in Sunshine through employment and innovative training opportunities.
Inspire Hope, which brings relief and support to the disadvantaged and those living in hardship by providing the basic essentials and food supplies, took out the inclusive Brimbank award.
During the pandemic, they have provided support for rough sleepers by responding quickly to requests to provide food, clothes, phone credit, hotel accommodation and have run a regular BBQ event in St Albans.
The environment and sustainability award was won by the Little Litter Project, which educates community members on the importance of managing waste and plastic pollution through community events such as clean-ups, talks and education posts on social media.
Inclusion Melbourne won the learning excellence award offers a range of courses for individuals with an intellectual disability. The training model includes small classes and a student to staff ratio of 1:3, offering a highly personalised training experience.
Brimbank Mayor, Cr Ranka Rasic said the awards are at the heart of recognising and paying tribute to community minded groups and organisations making a positive difference to Brimbank.
