New dream in a new home

By Justin Robertson
IT was the final victory.
Cardinia Shire Council, along with the Cardinia Foundation have come to the aid of 4Cs by donating the remaining $11,200 left to pay off their brand-new centre located behind La Porchetta off the Princes Highway.
Mayor George Blenkhorn and Cardinia Foundation chairman Brian Paynter presented Jeni Mathieson, the director of 4Cs with a cheque for the remaining amount needed to pay off the factory last week.
“It’s a fabulous achievement by the community to donate this unique facility to 4Cs who help people of the shire in difficulty,” Mayor George Blenkhorn said. “I would like to thank Jeni for her support and for years of hard work, with more years of hard work to come.”
4Cs and its volunteers moved from the old location in February this year and had their official opening in April, and now Mrs Mathieson said the place had a real buzz about it.
“It’s a blessing to have 10 volunteers a day coming in and the place is so much nicer to work at – there’s more privacy and a bit more dignity,” she said. “This has been a lifelong dream for me.”
The new building is 500 square metres compared to their previous 12 square metre house location and will now be able to store vegetables, shelve stocked items and cater to clients in need with privacy thanks to several break-out rooms.
“We are so grateful to the shire and foundation for donating the final amount of money needed,” 4Cs director Ms Mathieson said.
“This building is going to do great things for the community and there’s more great things we have planned down the track.”
4Cs has already serviced 18,000 clients for the year and are expected to hit 30,000 by December and with the new location, Ms Mathieson said they should be able to cope with the demand.
“The new place, there is certainly a fresh feel about it all. I can think clearly about what we can do for the community,” she said. “ It’s a new place with new dreams as well.”