Empowering independence

I'm Still Learning
__Passionate. Determined. Supportive. __

After Mandy Gosetti lost her husband to cancer, she realised there must be other people in the same boat, struggling with loneliness and doubt over how to manage jobs around the house.

Determined, Mandy decided to do something about it and set up I’m Still Learning a Not For Profit, to offer hands on courses in Basic Home Maintenance, Basic Car Maintenance and Cooking for one.

Mandy and her team have directly helped and empowered over 250 participants, with the majority of them being women over 50. She set up the program so that people who have either lost a partner, live alone or care for others in their home can gain new skills and friendships in a social and supportive environment.

Mandy says, ‘the best part of my job is getting to know our participants at the courses, watching their confidence grow and seeing them successfully complete projects at home as a result’.

Getting the courses up and running took a lot of hard work, but Mandy’s determination paid off, and she was able to secure a grant to purchase tool bags for use at the courses, build props for use by participants, and finance the first few courses.

Mandy has also learned new skills, today she co-ordinates courses, manages volunteers and participants, transports props and tools, sets up each session, manages finances, and cleans amongst other things.

‘My biggest achievement was setting up I’m Still Learning and successfully running the first basic home maintenance course with some people coming back and completing all our programs,’ she says.

Westfield Local Heroes are nominated and voted for by their communities, with the three top finalists per Westfield centre each awarded a $10,000 grant for their affiliated organisation. I’m Still Learning will use its grant to buy safety equipment and run more courses.

For further information on the Westfield Local Heroes program, click here