A runway show aims to encourage South Canterbury residents to put their best foot forward.
Multicultural Aoraki is hosting a fashion show at its festival next month.
General manager Katy Houstoun said it would be free entry for participants, as it was not a money-making endeavour.
Mrs Houstoun said the not-for-profit organisation simply wanted people to come together and share their culture.
She wanted to reassure people they did not need to be a migrant to join the fun, as all cultures were welcome.
Multicultural Aoraki (formerly Aoraki Migrant Centre) has been through a few changes in the past few years.
Its name had been changed in order to be ‘‘more inclusive’’.
And recently it had also had a change of address to Latter St.
With five more employees added to the books, and a greater need in the community for its services, the change of location was simply down to needing more space.
‘‘We’ve just grown.’’
The mosque shootings in Christchurch, followed by the impact of Covid-19 on migrant communities caused a great need for its services, helping everyone from Mt Cook workers with job losses and working on visas for stranded tourists.
‘‘Fast forward and the government realised we need to support migrants more, just bringing people over is not enough.’’
Mrs Houston said the organisation had developed a holistic service with wraparound support.
The first thing it did was refer newcomers to the coffee group, where they began to build a relationship to see what each family required.
Every client was unique, and the organisation could assist with anything from immigration, health services, or help with isolation.
It had advocated successfully for the conversion of international driver’s licenses to take place in Timaru, which it felt would help migrants from further inland who could not get time off work.
In partnership with the YMCA, the organisation now helped to get people up to speed for licences.
Free 15-minute slots for immigration advice were available on Thursdays, and a career adviser was on-hand to help with in-depth CVs.
At the moment staff were trying to pass on to clients the importance of filling out census forms.
‘‘If people don’t fill it out they will be under represented.’’
The majority of people who saw them were not born here, but the organisation wanted to remind people it was here to support all cultures.
The festival on March 11 — from 11am to 3pm — would be held on Ara’s field.
The team at Multicultural Aoraki hoped to see many different cultures represented.
‘‘The more the merrier,’’ Mrs Houston said.
Stalls were $10, and must be registered by Monday. There would be live performances, food and craft stalls, and activities for children.
