AT Radius Enterprises in Victoria Street Eaglehawk, over 100 supported employees undertake a range of jobs including packaging, assembly, sewing aprons and smocks, screen printing, garden maintenance, handmade paper production, and clearing and sorting donations from clothing collection bins across Bendigo.
The work at Radius Enterprises is meaningful, productive and rewarding for the supported employees who are paid according to their capabilities.
Joanne Rowlatt is a team leader and knows the importance of building strong links to other Bendigo organisations and businesses.
“Growing our enterprises is a matter of fitting what we do well to the needs of other businesses,” she says. “Bendigo Health is a great example. We started by folding and collating their patient files and before long were putting together Work Health Check packs for Bendigo Community Health. With an organisation as diverse as Bendigo Health there’s no end to the possibilities.
“Elmore Oil has been another success story for us,” Joanne says. “They are really happy with the work we do, and their business is continuing to grow which translates to more work for our team.”
“In Calico Country they manufacture cotton drill products such as aprons,
promotional bags, bowling cloths etc. Supported employees, including Chevy and Hailea, get great satisfaction out of making quality goods.”
For Radius Enterprises it’s also about changing with the needs of the modern workplace. “It’s not just about benefitting business,” Joanne stresses. “It’s about building bridges and forging relationships between people with a disability and the wider community. Our workers are extremely versatile and there are jobs we could be doing for businesses that they may never have thought of before.”
Radius Enterprises can be contacted on 5440-8926.
