The Nardoo Cafe is set to open at Community Lifestyle Support, providing jobs and training opportunities for people living with disabilities.
A $10,000 Sunsuper Dreams for a Better World grant will help CLS kick-start its dream of opening the café at its Bundaberg community centre on Ashfield Road.
The Nardoo Café will create more than 20 jobs for people who live with barriers to mainstream employment.
CLS CEO Damien Tracey said the café was critical to the development of CLS and to provide greater services to the Bundaberg community.
“The high rate of unemployment in our region means that the job market is extremely competitive and makes it especially difficult for people with disabilities to access training and employment opportunities,” Mr Tracey said.
“Sunsuper’s grant means we can finally purchase the materials to kick start our dream for the Nardoo Café, employ and train locals of all abilities from construction to service, and help our clients transition into the mainstream workforce.
“We’re excited because the Nardoo Café isn’t just about selling coffee.
“We think if we get an engineer and an occupational therapist and a person with a disability all sitting around drinking a coffee, some pretty awesome ideas to further benefit the community will come out of it.”
The Nardoo Café will take the form of a modified shipping container fit-out with an accessible kitchen, as well as a fully accessible shaded courtyard and an outdoor eating area.
Nardoo Cafe wins Sunsuper grant
Sunsuper Chief Financial Officer Jason Sommer said CLS had a clear plan on how the grant would benefit the Bundaberg community.
“The Nardoo Café has been an ambitious dream for CLS for many years and we’re thrilled Sunsuper’s grants will help them start this project that will no doubt have a lasting and positive impact on the community,” Mr Sommer said.
Sunsuper’s Dreams for a Better World program awards $150,000 in grants each year to support local initiatives that help improve the lives of Australians and brings communities together.
“Since 2011 Sunsuper has awarded more than 115 grants to community grassroots charities and social enterprises to help tackle social issues affecting Australian communities, including homelessness, waste and unemployment,” Mr Sommer said.
Sunsuper is calling for grassroots charities that improve the health and wellbeing of Australians to apply for the next round which closes on 13 September 2019.
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