A Voice for All: MCCGC’s Commitment to Inclusion and Impact
The Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast (MCCGC) is a vital organisation serving the needs of migrants, refugees, and new arrivals in the Gold Coast community. As they celebrate their 40th anniversary, we sat down with Troy, their Chief Operations Officer, to learn more about the services they provide and the impact they’re making. From aged care services to employment support and training, MCCGC is dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion across all ages and backgrounds. Read on to discover how MCCGC is making a difference in the Gold Coast community.
VGC: Tell us a little bit about MCCGC and the services you provide:
Troy: MCCGC (Multicultural Communities Council Gold Coast) provides services to communities across the ages in Home and Community Care, NDIS, Mental Health, Settlement, Employment support and training, Service Navigation (Care Finders and NDIS Access) and Community Development. Many of our services are accessed and tailored for our Multicultural communities but most people may not know that we welcome all Gold Coasters looking to connect, especially with CURA, our aged care services. Our Aged in-home services reach from Sunshine Coast down to Tweed Heads. We are also celebrating our 40th birthday this year and MCCGC is the peak regional organisation serving the needs of migrants, refugees and new arrivals.
We would love to hear more about the wonderful ways in which MCCGC is already making a positive impact on diversity and inclusion in our community. Could you please share some examples with us?
We connect in many ways to bring about change and are guided as always by local needs. The most recent example of a positive impact that comes to mind is in the support of international students and migrants looking to work in their field of study or qualification. Our Work Towards program has been well received and supported a participant to get their dream job with Gold Coast City Council. We also acknowledge the contributions of community leaders and networks across the coast who make daily positive impacts on the lives of the communities they serve. We celebrate this when we can and hope to do this as part of our 40th-year celebrations.
How have you seen volunteering help your organisation? Or can you describe a time when a challenge was overcome with the help of volunteers?
Volunteering is so important to what we can achieve as we are stronger together and can do more with the knowledge and compassion of our volunteers. Some of our volunteers started in COVID with our phone based in language support and some of our supporters have since gone on to complete their Certificate in Individual Support and are now supporting our seniors in the home. We want to continue to build on these pathways for the community to create a sense of belonging and meaningful employment.
Recently with the challenges of housing and costs, we were able to create a drop-in space for assistance by tapping into our social work students and volunteers. This has provided one on one support to those looking for accommodation.
Why is it important to support Volunteering?
I started as a volunteer in Community Services and strongly believe Volunteering is the best way for newly arrived Gold Coasters to build networks, get local references and connect with their local area and passions.
Can you share a specific moment or experience during your time at MCCGC that has left a lasting impact on you?
I think the support during COVID and watching the community as a whole provide assistance in whatever way they could to those in need will remain with me forever. This would not have been possible without our Community Leaders (also volunteers), collaborations across services and volunteers who provided support, heart and time.
MCCGC welcomed the recent addition of Care Finders to their team so if anyone is experiencing barriers to accessing My Aged Care, please reach out. Care Finders carefindersgc@mccgc.com.au
MCCGC also will be having a movie screening and lantern-making workshops coming up soon so follow them on Facebook and socials to keep across upcoming events.