Maleny Neighbourhood Centre Mission Statement

MNC’s mission is to foster resilient and fair communities and a just society where diversity is celebrated and participation encouraged.

We see MNC as a welcoming multifunctional community space in the heart of Maleny that provides opportunities for community connection and well being for young people, families and the broader community.

To achieve this vision we will continue to:

• Build MNC as a vibrant, dynamic, ethical, sustainable and effective organisation that is driven by the local community.
• Work with local organisations and agencies to meet our community’s needs

In doing this we will:

• Respect, care for and support our members, staff and volunteers;
• Work collaboratively with community groups and individuals;
• Develop partnerships based on mutual respect;
• Create innovative responses to poverty and disadvantage;
• Identify community needs;
• Organise and deliver projects with community members;
• Advocate to local, state and commonwealth governments to improve services to our area;
• Share our resources with the wider community, particularly those who are marginalised and disadvantaged;
• Make our facilities available to other groups in a spirit of cooperation;
• Provide a safe space for new groups to emerge;
• Provide the role of auspice for new and emerging groups;
• Support our volunteers with training and rewards to enhance their participation with our programs;
• Celebrate diversity;
• Encourage participation;
• Provide access to services.

Maleny Neighbourhood Centre (MNC) works to reduce hardship in our local area and is committed to supporting community. Is hardship a problem in QLD or in Maleny?

More Australians are classified as being homeless than ever before, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

More than 116,000 people were experiencing homelessness when the 2016 Census was conducted, an increase of 4.6 percent over the last five years.

Homelessness included those who were living in severely crowded dwellings – where a home would require four extra bedrooms to fit its occupants – as well as those living in tents, improvised dwellings or sleeping on the street. Every month MNC provides food for an average of 35 adults and 28 children, costing around $1,000 a month.

Go to our DONATE page. All donations above $2 are fully tax deductible.

MNC needs to raise $100,000 per year to keep the doors of the centre open. While some of this money comes from room hire, the rest is generated from membership, fundraising and donations. This is where community support is very important. We believe that good health is about give and take and MNC aims to be the kind of organisation that you are happy to support so while you are busy MNC can help the people that need help.

MNC supports:

• Connections with others in your local community, come to our community lunch every Thursday at 12.30pm Become a Volunteer
• Social enterprise helping build the resilience of local communities Activities at MNC. One example is the Maleny Fix it Cafe.
• Maleny Flexi School and local youth  to be involved and make valuable contributions in their town. It starts with Youth.
• People meeting to plan, sing, create and celebrate
• Advocates for improvements in local transport systems, affordable housing (links to Exploratory Housing Study Dec 2014 documents I, II, III)
• Maleny being ready in a disaster. After Cyclone Oswald, MNC led the community work behind Get Ready Maleny, our local Disaster Management Plan (link to Get Ready Maleny to come). MNC is listed as a secondary Evacuation / Recovery Centre
• People giving back to local communities. With your small change, in one step, you can make a small monthly donation and have your membership come out of the same fund. Click here to Donate
• Community gardening. Volunteers are working in the garden most days. Come along and join in! New & experienced gardeners welcome.

Who Are We?

Maleny Neighbourhood Centre (MNC) is an Incorporated Associated overseen by a Management Committee.

Maleny Neighbourhood Centre is an Income Tax Exempt Charity (donations over $2 are fully tax deductible) and a Not For Profit Organisation.

Our Australian Business Number is 33 095 644 692.

Maleny Neighbourhood Centre provides emergency relief support and has over ten different affordable spaces for hire for events and meetings including kitchens. MNC is a focal point for a wide range of community activities and is a busy, friendly place. Over the past few years, responding to local needs and the community using the centre more, visitor numbers have risen. In 2017, there were over 20,000 visitors to MNC and in 2018 we have over 1000 visits per month.

Maleny Neighbourhood Centre is committed to ensuring, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees, volunteers, contractors and visitors to its building and grounds and strives to:

• Respect and value our members and all those people who work in and around the centre
• Work collaboratively with groups and individuals
• Develop partnerships based on mutual respect
• Create innovative responses to poverty and disadvantage
• Organise and deliver projects with community members
• Advocate to Local, State and Federal Government to improve services in our area
• Share our resources (including our facilities) equitably, particularly with those who are marginalised and disadvantaged
• Provide a safe place for new groups to emerge
• Support and train volunteers to enhance their work experience and participation

To ensure that activities occur within the above parameters, Maleny Neighbourhood Centre activities and actions are bound by our policies. Click here to view POLICIES  which need to be read and signed off by staff, students and volunteers.

MEET OUR STAFF

Centre Coordinator Madonna Hampson,  Development Worker Bronwyn Lysaght, Administration/Finance Officer Sue Liesegang,  Volunteer Support Worker Nancy McMahon.

The 2023 Management Committee:

Ian Demack (President), Anne Robinson (Treasurer), Tracie Ramsdale (Secretary), Brian Kennedy (Vice President), Leanne Dodd (Committee Member), Merilyn Milton (Committee Member), Ted Gardner (Committee Member), Colin Harding (Committee Member), Claudia McKay (Committee Member).