Main fundraiser photo

KEEP THE MOVIE MAGIC EXPERIENCE

The Community of Mansfield and STUDENTS from Mansfield Secondary College will benefit from your donation to kick start our Commercial Kitchen at the Mansfield Armchair  Cinema. Why you ask, well it all started with a DREAM..............  

When Mansfield’s Star Cinema closed in 2006, James and Catriona Wilson did not want the local area to be left without this important public facility. They developed a unique business model to establish a not-for-profit Community Cinema that would employ and train local students. Collaborating with Mansfield College and Goulburn-Ovens TAFE, as well as other stakeholders and supporters in the community, the Mansfield Armchair Cinema (MAC) opened in June 2009 after almost 12 months of research, design, fit out and training. To our knowledge, the MAC is the only Community Cinema with an apprenticeship training program in Australia. Students  Study Certificate III in Business or Media.

At the time, Mansfield Armchair Cinema was Australia’s very first fully-digital cinema. This offered the opportunity for students to access the most up-to-date cinema technology.  We now train 4 -6 students a year, and want to increase it yearly and to introduce Certificate III in Hospitality. To do this  we need a KITCHEN! Over the past 10 years we have trained 26 Students who have gone onto Part time work while at University or Full Time Work, 
The Mansfield Armchair Cinema and its students have been recognized through various awards, including:

·         Mansfield and District Business Awards as Employer of Youth – 2012, 2013, 2014

·         Induction into the Mansfield and District Business Awards Hall of Fame in 2015

·         Finalist in the Weekly Times Regional Awards

·         Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence in 2015 & 2017

·         Student Angus Appleby won the Apprenticeships Matter Trainee of the Year 2016 Award

·         Student Alex Cauka won the 2014 Victorian Premier’s Award and was nominated for the Prime Minister Award for Skills Excellence, 2015

·        Nominated for Community Event at Mansfield Australia Day Awards

·         Successful Grant Application through FRRR for the purchase of a POS System and Bar Scanner

·         Successful Community Grant through Mansfield Shire for the purchase of new Seating

·         Successful RFFF Grant Recipient for new Cinema Screen

·         Successful Bendigo Bank Scholarship Recipient for Sound Proofing

·        Recipient of Govt Grant through Department of Infrastructure

·        Winner of the Victorian Training Awards - 2017

-        Winner of the Regional Victoria Awards – Customer Service 2018
     

The Mansfield Armchair Cinema also helps the Community through Fundraising Movie Nights . The Cinema  has contributed more than $20,000 to community fundraising projects, including Mansfield District Hospital, Mansfield Red Cross, East Timor Village, Mansfield Ambulance Auxiliary, Sporting Clubs, and Child Care Facilities. The fundraising has enabled charities to buy vital equipment. This builds great community spirit and creates strong loyalty and brand equity. Our clients support us because we support the community.  

We have developed such a positive reputation as a safe and friendly business, that parents ‘drop and run’ in the school holidays – leaving their children to watch a movie while they take some time out for themselves. Parents have confidence in our staff training and our community spirit and are therefore comfortable doing this. This popular school holiday activity in turn has contributed to our profitability.

Customers appreciate the effort MAC puts in to training and developing the students, and the opportunities they receive through the program. An investment in our students’ skill sets is an investment in our cinema and the community of Mansfield. Publicity of the success of our students in local media, including local newspapers and local TV, raises the profile of the cinema and informs the local community of our great achievements

The Mansfield Armchair Cinema is looking towards the future for Students and Community. A Commercial Kitchen will enhance and embrace our Plans for increasing the number of Students we can help and give them  a head start to life after school.

Our students would be so grateful they would invite you around and  cook up a storm to say  THANK YOU☺

Donate

Donations 

  • Nicole Smyth
    • $25 
    • 3 yrs
Donate

Fundraising team (3)

Karen Oliver
Organizer
Raised $175 from 5 donations
James Wilson
Beneficiary
Catriona Wilson
Team member
Elaine Teunissen
Team member
This team raised $2,640 from 36 other donations.

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