Country Paradise Parklands all ramped up for Café Barrow

Nerang Country Paradise Association Inc (NCPA) have all hands on deck with their project for a new social venture called Café Barrow at the Country Paradise Parklands.

NCPA President Tim Wilson said Café Barrow aimed to provide youth, the homeless and disadvantaged people with a pathway into employment and a life with meaning, purpose and direction.

“Modelled off the award-winning social venture in Melbourne called STREAT, Café Barrow will provide a training ground for young people aged 16-29 years to gain hospitability skills through a carefully designed tailored program that fuses business disciplines, work experience and social support,” Tim said.

“This is an incredibly important project as on any given night approximately 44,500 young people are homeless across Australia, let alone the rest that are slipping through the support services resource gaps.”

To ensure that the café was accessible to all people, NCPA sought funds to build an all ability access ramp and safe landing deck to the café.

“We were thrilled with a $12,000 from the ETC Community Support Fund to enable us to purchase the materials needed,” Tim said.

“The future of the building is now a reality as we near completion of the other stages.”

The café is proposed to open in November.

If you would like to help with the remaining project works, please contact Tim on 0401 382 048.

Country Paradise Parklands is located on Beaudesert-Nerang Road. For more information visit www.countryparadiseparklands.com.au

ETC Chairman Ian Preston said it was a pleasure to be able to support the Nerang Country Paradise Association Inc.

“The ETC Community Support Fund is designed to help organisations reduce disadvantage, generate opportunity, increase support services and/or build capacity in the communities in which we operate,” Mr Preston said.

“ETC is proud to be a not-for-profit company and we are confident the money we are donating will help make a more positive future for our community.”