Northern Futures is pursuing its mission to provide a gateway for people to achieve a better life from new, better-equipped offices in Station St.
Relocating to refurbished offices gives the growing not-for-profit access to more fit-for-purpose training rooms and working space to run their job focused training and personal development programs.
Executive officer Lyn Morgan said continued support from community partners including Viva Energy was critical to the success of Northern Futures’ programs.
“Our program is one person at a time, one life at a time,” Ms Morgan said.
“We have more staff and a bigger program than we had thanks to our partners.”
Growing beyond its capacity to remain at the Norlane Community Centre, Northern Futures recently relocated to the former Canny Group office in Station St which was refurbished to meet the needs of Northern Futures’ staff and clients.
“We are so grateful for the support that we have got from Viva Energy over the years,” Ms Morgan said.
“We have been able to apply some of the funding that we get from Viva Energy to these training rooms and make them all they can be for our clients.
“We are also grateful that Viva Energy over a long term has employed Northern Futures’ clients. Quite a number of new apprentices at the Geelong Refinery have come through Northern Futures which we are really proud of.”
Founded in 2007, Northern Futures addresses disadvantage in Geelong’s northern suburbs by delivering tailored education and employment opportunities in collaboration with industry, community and government.
It works in collaboration with local employers who inform the content of its courses and open doors to offer meaningful employment opportunities.
Viva Energy is committed to supporting the Geelong community through a range of ongoing initiatives. In addition to supporting not-for-profit organisations Northern Futures and Give Where You Live, Viva Energy provides Community Support Grants and sponsors 15 local grass roots sports clubs.
Community Engagement Manager Vanda Strange said the company’s Community Program is inclusive of all parts of the Geelong community. “While we support a number of organisations, we also sponsor events like the Cats Welcome to Geelong event for new arrivals to Australia and specifically to Geelong, Koorie Students’ Aspirations Careers Day event, and this year we are broadening our Club Legends Awards to be the Community Legends Awards,” she said.
“I am thrilled to be Viva Energy’s Community Engagement Manager and a part of supporting Geelong.”
Learn more about Viva Energy's community program.