The awards aim to encourage, acknowledge and reward the valuable contributions that individuals, communities and businesses have made throughout regional and rural Victoria.
GV Vets has been nominated for the Regional Development Victoria Business Achievement Award while Wendy Crow and Style Travel Pty Ltd are contenders for the Regional Development Victoria Leadership and Innovation Award.
Shepparton's indigenous-led not-for-profit organisation Ganbina has been nominated for two awards. Ganbina general manager Larissa Falla said she felt privileged to be nominated for the GOTAFE Community Group Award and GOTAFE Community Education Award.
“We know how valuable the work is we are doing behind the scenes, but it's incredible to have that work recognised by the community,” Ms Falla said.
Ganbina supports local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people aged 6 to 25 years to reach their full individual potential through meaningful engagement in education, training and employment.
Ganbina’s JOBS4U2 program portfolio centres on case management, mentoring and skill building to enable a successful transition from school to work for participants.
Ms Falla said the program benefited not only the participants but the broader community by creating job-ready employees and reducing the number of people on government payments.
“Basically, the whole idea around Ganbina was around shifting the narrative for Aboriginal children and youth,” Ms Falla said.
“There’s no question a number of Aboriginal youth come from a disadvantaged background, but we want to empower kids to know they have the ability to shift that narrative by the choices they can make.
“It's about flipping that negative script and inspiring them to be whatever they want to be and become agents of change,” she said.
Award winners are expected to be announced in October.
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