Cire’s First Impressions Clothing Exchange (FICE) Program wants to deliver weekly workshops & 1:1 mentoring, to assist women to enhance their employability, pathways to training, greater financial security & gender equality.
Based at Lilydale in Melbourne’s outer east, StepUp with FICE will draw on & be informed by FICE’s grassroots work with long-term unemployed & vulnerable women in the region, with the support of established networks. These women experience overlapping discrimination/disadvantage & face complex barriers & increased risk of falling through the cracks of support.
Cire witnesses how participants fall through such cracks/deemed ineligible because of them. Employment Plus has reported 70 long term unemployed (LTU) women registered at Lilydale; 120 at Ringwood which is within our catchment.
FICE empowers participants through a wrap-around approach involving education/upskilling/ mentoring/personal development/h&s-on work experience in a safe, non-judgemental, supportive environment.
StepUp includes:
The $20,00 grant request would cover:
Cire’s FICE empowers vulnerable women to be their best selves to engage meaningfully in community life & employment, instilling & community connectedness & belonging, & equips women to achieve financial independence.
We wish to extend our reach & impact to serve more women through our proposed StepUp program of workshops, mentoring & workplace experience that will:
Highlighting the vulnerability of women in the Yarra Ranges LGA & the relevance of FICE's wrap-around approach, are the following 2021 Census statistics:
We are proud of our reputation for ongoing consultation with participants to ensure our programs address the diverse needs of the community & are delivered effectively. Project data will be collected through:
Participant goal setting will establish personal pathways & action plans & will occur in a pre-intake interview. Action plans & goals will be reviewed at key point, as outlined above, allowing participants to evaluate personal progress, assisting in data collection & analysis, gauge program success & enable FICE to report effectively on participant & program outcomes.
Partners will further contribute to the program evaluation process through workshops & forums.
Lessons & learnings through the evaluation process will be translated into changes for next iteration of the program.
Cire Services Inc. is one of the largest and most reputable NFPs in the Yarra Ranges with an increasing presence in other LGAs including the City of Casey and Cardinia Shire. A registered charity and unique to the Yarra Ranges, we provide flexible learning opportunities, education and training and a depth and breadth of innovative community programs and services to help meet the needs of, and empower, all those within our reach.
We are committed to connecting people of all ages, interests and backgrounds, providing lifelong learning opportunities and supporting communities to identify and address their own needs. Our goal is to help individuals be their best, particularly those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage and marginalisation, and in doing so, help strengthen families and communities.
Since commencing as Upper Yarra Community House in 1976, Cire has expanded enormously to meet local needs through its core services of Cire Training, our award-winning Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and including First Impression Clothing Exchange (FICE) Program for vulnerable women; Community School for at-risk youth; Cire Early Learning; and Cire Community Hubs.
Employing approx. 260 people, we operate through outreach and at sites in Lilydale, Yarra Junction, Mount Evelyn, Chirnside Park, and Badger Creek in the Yarra Ranges; Berwick in the City of Casey and Pakenham in Cardinia Shire.
90%+ of our revenue is in tied gov’t funding. We rely on grants to fund programs.
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