By Janet Claringbold, MDLC CEO

In its formation, Mountain District Women’s Co-op brought together women with aspirations and foresight, who had hope for a better future for all women. Their dream was for a society of equality with equal rights, opportunities and greater personal freedom for women.

With courage and tenacity, they took advantage of a moment in time to forge an organisation that would bring real, positive change to the lives of local women. They created avenues to connect women with opportunities for financial independence and education, recognising that equity in education brings equality in society. This is our legacy.

MDLC has an ability to draw extraordinary people towards it. Throughout the years, MDLC has benefited from the involvement of people who have brought with them the same levels of fortitude, dedication and goodwill as our founding members.

MDLC is a place where people bring everything of themselves and share it willingly for the benefit of everyone in the community People who have compassion and empathy, who approach life selflessly and who are motivated by a desire to contribute to a movement for change, towards a better society. These people are our Board members, teachers, trainers, tutors, managers, leaders, staff, volunteers, friends, members and supporters, who, for over 50 years have contributed to the collective strength of MDLC. Thank you to all of you for your contribution.

Through dedication and commitment, MDLC has developed a strong organisational culture that we can be all proud of. We were founded with ethical substance and remain an organisation of integrity. The people in our community who rely on us, remain at the centre of all our endeavours. We know and honour our values, because they reflect who we are. We are transparent, accountable and authentic. We are trusted, respected and have a strong reputation in our community. This is our character.

Our ambition to contribute to equality in Victoria remains, as new areas of disadvantage take hold. There are still many people who have barriers to completing their education and reaching their potential in work and life. There are still people who are reaching out for local community connections that bring friendship and purpose to their lives.

MDLC has much to do. Society is moving further away from our founders’ dream of equality. There is still a need for locally developed community education which caters for people who need an alternative approach that is easier to engage with, is more supportive and allows them to find success when other attempts have failed. We are still needed by our community who are looking for a place to contribute and belong.

Along the course of our history, the challenges faced by MDLC have been many. Some things remain constant. There is never enough time, never enough funding and everything keeps changing.

Being invisible to the people making decisions that affect us continues. Our ability to flourish remains under threat as we navigate a landscape of changing government priorities. But we are confident. Our purpose is noble, our ambition is clear, our foundation is strong and our commitment is unwavering.
This is our future.

More on the history of MDLC here.