Programs We Support
Menzies: Caring for Kids is an organisation dedicated to supporting young people in Frankston and on the Mornington Peninsula.
Menzies has progressed through a significant period of change in which we have moved from our former role as a residential care service provider to a new focus on philanthropy, service and program support.
The volunteer Committee of Management (CoM) has engaged with a number of organisations who made submissions to Menzies as part of our exhaustive “gap audit” conducted by a specialist consultant from Dench McClean Carlson Consulting. Each of the organistaions invited to present to the CoM, addresssed our intention to support the particular needs of children in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula who are in out of home care, at risk of being in out of home care or transitioning from out of home care.
We are excited to announce that, in a first step in our new guise as a philanthropic organisation, we have agreed to finance three very significant projects that address our mission and show enormous promise in improving the lives of the young people in our area in the long term. Each of the projects encompasses partnerships with groups, already well established in their work with young people and who characterise so much of that for which Menzies has stood over its long history, The three projects currently funded are listed and detailed below.
I hope that you are excited about this small start to our launch as a philanthropic organisation as are we, the Committee of Management.
Menzies has provided a minibus for the Victoria Police Youth Resource Officers and partner agencies to use to transport disadvantaged youth living in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula to community activities, events and programs.
Menzies is funding CREATE Foundation to deliver ‘CREATE your Future’ workshops for up to 100 young people aged 14-25 in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula, as well as 2 camps for 36 further young care leavers per year, to aid young people leaving care to reach their full potential.s leo.
Menzies have provided funding for a Paediatrician, Fellow (GP in training) and an Occupational Therapist, enabling access to these services for three government schools in Frankston North.
TRY Mentoring assists young people by connecting them with adult volunteer mentors; someone who can be a supportive friend and role model for them. This is done through One-to-One mentoring matches and Mentoring In The Hood (MITH) group mentoring programs.
