College manager Karen Edmondson has sent out an urgent ‘SOS’ to the community to help keep its doors open, as insolvency threatens.

Over the past two years, the college has significantly changed its services, moving to new larger premises on Mann Street, Nambucca Heads, and doubling the courses offered throughout the year.

All of the changes, along with staff turnover, grants falling through and rents rising contributed to the community college’s financial problems, Ms Edmondson said.

Now, $20,000 was urgently needed to keep the doors open and the courses flowing through the fourth semester of the year.

Ms Edmondson said a government grant was expected in December, which would ease the college’s position, but the college would have to prove it was financially viable before it was handed over.

Some of the hundreds of people who have taken advantage of the college’s courses throughout the past 25 years are fighting to keep it open with pledges of support.

Ms Edmondson said more wide-spread community support was needed.

“There are almost 20,000 people in the Valley – so if everyone could give just one dollar it would make all the difference,” she said.

“We’ve only ever just scraped by, but if the college closes now, it will be for all the wrong reasons. It is very popular right now and delivers services for a wide range of people.”

From its beginnings in one small classroom, the college had branched out into a range of disciplines and employed 30 to 40 different tutors throughout the year.

It had a large volunteer ‘task-force’, which was dedicated to running the administration of the college.

Government funding had been tied increasingly to career-focused skills, but the college had held onto its lifestyle courses, which Ms Edmondson said were important to the community.

“We have gauged what courses people in the community would like to see run here, and that includes lifestyle courses for older people,

single mums – a wide group of people – not just the unemployed,” she said.

Ms Edmondson has asked people who want to support the service to call into its Mann Street premises (near the roundabout) and speak to the staff.