Congratulations to Patti Stafford and the IWC Wangaratta for their work with local students, and recognition recently received at the Victorian Learn Local Awards. 
The following is a press release from The Centre (a community college)
The Centre was announced as a Finalist at the 2015 Victorian Learn Local Awards for the category ‘Excellence in Creating Local Solutions’ for their community project ‘Community Cook-Ups’ with the Inner Wheel Club of Wangaratta and their Greta Road campus VCAL students learning to cook wholesome meals for the Carevan Wangaratta.
The awards ceremony was held at the Collingwood Town Hall in Melbourne on 10 September with over 220 people in attendance from Learn Local community colleges and neighbourhood houses from across the State.
While The Centre did not take out the award in their category, they were very pleased to be recognised as a finalist in the State.
The ‘Community Cook-Ups’ project has now been running for over 18 months with students from The Centre’s Greta Road campus. Over 30 students have participated in the project, contributing to 3,193 meals being served by the Carevan Wangaratta in this period – all prepared by the VCAL students and ladies from Inner Wheel Club of Wangaratta. A number of students from this project have gained employment in the hospitality industry and often speak of the increased confidence they have developed from interacting with the Inner Wheel ladies.
The ‘Community Cook-Ups’ project will continue into 2016 and beyond and values the community partnerships that have been developed on the way.
“We are really proud of this project and the positive engagement our VCAL students from Greta Road have had with our community. To be recognised at the State Awards in our sector is fantastic. Seeing the students’ confidence and skills develop is a really rewarding part of the project and the ladies from Inner Wheel who mentor the students with the cooking have played a crucial role in that process.
The partnerships with the Inner Wheel Club of Wangaratta, Carevan Wangaratta and the support of Woolworths and the Rural City have really enabled this project to come together.
I would also like to acknowledge the work of Jo Maples, our Marketing Officer, who is also a member of the Carevan Board and who actively participates in distribution of meals to those in need. Jo has been instrumental in developing and maintaining our partnership with the Inner Wheel club and our Youth VCAL program” – Felicity Williams, CEO, The Centre