Tom Quinn Community Centre
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We exist to create a safe and supportive environment, where young people can access life and living skills, holistic wellbeing support and education and training pathways. Together we walk alongside young people to help transform lives.
Our employment and training programs provide safe, supportive learning environments for young people to pursue future training goals and secure job opportunities.
Through Skilling Queenslanders for Work (SQW), TQCC helps eligible Queenslanders to gain skills, qualifications & experience to participate in a range of vocational education and training activities that provide opportunities to creatively learn and develop skills that increase employability.
With support, young people gain qualifications and practical employment experience to successfully transition into longer term employment.
Welcome to our little piece of paradise! By joining us today, you are doing something wonderful for our community! Every cent you spend here is guilt free, with 100% of profits going back into the programs we run.
Please feel free to explore all the happenings here at our Community Centre, that YOU are helping to make happen. You can find more details about the Centre on your table at the café, or you can ask one of our friendly staff, trainees or volunteers.
One of the exciting programs that has been offered through the Centre, is a Certificate I in Hospitality. The Skilling Queenslanders for Work (SQW) initiative assists disadvantaged Queenslanders to gain the skills, qualifications, and experience they need to enter and stay in the workforce. Eva Burrows College is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) (0328) and enables the Tom Quinn Community Centre (TQCC) to provide traineeships through SQW. SQW funds the SIT10222 - Certificate I in Hospitality at the TQCC, where young people who have a passion for food can gain the necessary qualifications to support their long-term employment goals in the hospitality industry.
Please help them feel supported by being patient as they learn. We all start our life journey somewhere and our trainees are at the beginning of theirs here. Thank you for taking this journey with them.
The Salvation Army cares about you, and we want you to feel safe whenever you are visiting the Centre, whether you come to us to learn, eat or explore – your safety and wellbeing is central to all we do.
Please report any concerns or complaints you may have when visiting us to one of our staff members, for them to initiate a course of action to help resolve the issue raised.
Who was Tom Quinn?
Mr Tom Quinn was an exceptional man who dedicated his life to helping other people. He moved to Bundaberg in 1978 after a successful career as an accountant with Qantas in Sydney.
His passion for the aviation industry continued and he was instrumental in organising the removal of Bert Hinkler's home from the UK to Bundaberg.
Mr Quinn was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1997.
In 2000 he floated the idea of restoring a derelict waste management building and transforming it into a centre for young people with ADD. In 2002, the Tom Quinn Community Centre was opened to help disadvantaged youth and after his plan blossomed well beyond what he first envisioned, with a range of services, business houses and Work for the Dole programs helping to restore the building to its original finery. It now houses a range of community services focusing on deprived and disengaged youth, and others serving community service orders, and people in need of training. Our centre is named in his honour, and how proud we are of this heritage.
We aspire to bring Tom’s vision and dreams to life by continuing to build on the amazing opportunities he set in motion for young peoplevin the Bundaberg area.
We encourage you to read up on Tom’s life, including his achievement in his 70's when he decided to study law so he could offer free legal advice to those in need and went on to become admitted to the bar at the age of 75 in 2003. He graduated when he was 75 years old and it is estimmated the value of his legal assistance to be in the vicinity of $1.2million.
Mr Quinn passed away in 2006, but his legacy lives on in the work our centre continues to provide in his namesake. What a remarkable leader!
National Model of Care - Journey to Independence
For over 20 years, TSA Youth Services have been walking alongside young people across Australia.
We provide a range of services that support young people to secure safe and stable housing, engage in alcohol and other drug recovery, reconnect with school, explore further training and employment opportunities, become safe drivers and navigate justice systems all whilst promoting positive community connections.
We believe every young person deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential!
To help us achieve our goal of supporting every young person to reach their full potential, we have developed our National Model of Care - Journey to Independence.
The Salvation Army Youth Services has a range of programs for young people, their families and the community. To find out more about The Salvation Army Youth Services in Australia, visit Youth services | The Salvation Army Australia
The Salvation Army Youth Services Model of Care outlines how our services are delivered. It sets out our commitment to all young people, children and families. It guides what we say, what we do, how we act and how we respond.
It's our guiding document that ensures everything we do creates intentional and meaningful pathways for young people to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.
For most kids, home time is something to look forward to. For others, the end of the day means fear and uncertainty.
Every year, there are almost 40,000 children and young people who have nowhere to live across this country. Around 9,500 of them are 15-17 years old and thousands more lost their homes when they were children.
Current policies are creating lifetimes of disadvantage by failing vulnerable children and young people. It’s time to fix our housing system through policy change and dedicated investment.
We are calling on federal, state and territory governments to:
- Develop and maintain a national pool of 15,000 dedicated youth tenancies for 16-24 year olds.
- Provide linked support services to enable young people to pursue their individual goals and transition to full independence.
- Address the rental gap to ensure viability for housing providers and landlords offering tenancies to young people who have been homeless
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Please click on the links below for further information on the services we provide
Community Garden
Garden Café
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Drive for Life
Contact Us
Phone: (07) 4153 3557
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Address:
8 Killer Street
Bundaberg QLD 4670
Postal Address:
PO Box 5315
Bundaberg West QLD 4670
The Salvation Army Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters throughout Australia.
We pay our respect to Elders past and present and acknowledge their continuing relationship to this land and the ongoing living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples across Australia. We also acknowledge future aspirations of all First Nations Peoples.
We value and include people of all cultures, languages, abilities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and intersex status. We are committed to providing programs that are fully inclusive. We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of people of all ages, particularly children.
