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NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE WEEK EVENTS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA IN 2019
In 2019, Western Australians right across the State enjoyed a wonderful week of events during Neighbourhood Centre Week: open days; movie, trivia and board game nights; community breakfasts, lunches and high teas; and more.
All events had one thing in common: they Brought People Together and gave people the opportunity to celebrate as a community the wonderful asset that is their local centre.
Many of the events happening across WA were made possible due to grant funding from Linkwest's Neighbourhood Centre Week 2019 Small Grant program, which in turn, is due to generous support from Lotterywest.
Another amazing Neighbourhood Centre Week (NCW) flew by in May 2019, with a range of some fantastic events run under the theme: Bringing People Together – from your neighbourhood to your nation.
The theme encompassed the notion that the nation as a whole was working collectively through Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centres to bring communities together.
In WA, thanks to generous funding from Lotterywest, Linkwest was able to provide grants to 25 Centres to run events during NCW. This year, events were held as far north as Kununurra Neighbourhood House and as far south as the joint event thrown by Denmark and Walpole CRCs. While we would have loved to attend each and every event, this just wasn't possible, however Linkwest staff were able to pop in to a number of Centres to join in the festivities.
Festivities kicked off with a Launch event at Manjimup Family Centre on 3 May. The event coincided with the grand opening of The Meeting Place, and farewell of manager Andre Foulon after 24 years at the helm of MFC. Linkwest CEO Jane Chilcott and Executive Assistant Sharon Gillies hopped in the car and attended the launch event, and managed to visit a couple of other Centres on their road trip.
The majority of other events were held during the designated NCW dates of 6-12 May and there was a huge variety of events thanks to the imagination of Centre staff…
Armadale Community Family Centre hosted a Side by Side Community Day on Wednesday 8 May, and started work on a beautiful mural painted at the front of the Centre in partnership with Art vs Depression, an organisation using art to build stronger and more resilient communities using powerful storytelling. Jane Billham and Joanna Murphy from Linkwest popped in and got a tour of the Centre, toy library, and burgeoning mural which is shaping up to be a beautiful addition to the entrance of the Centre.
Boyup Brook held the Swap & Meet on Friday, a day at the CRC where community members were able to come together to sell, share and swap items such as plants, books, clothing, tools, toys and jewellery. Linkwest staff Mihaela Nicolescu and Joanna Murphy made the trip for this one, and even left with some amazing handmade and second-hand items. They also got a chance to pop in to the CRC and Family Centre in Bridgetown on the way home!
Bruce Rock CRC hosted the Fabulous Neighbour Community BBQ on Friday 10 May, welcoming 40 community members to enjoy a free BBQ cooked by the local police officers, as well as the relaxing atmosphere of the Bruce Rock Amphitheatre. In the lead up to the event, they asked for nominations for the Fabulous Neighbour Award, which went to a very worthy recipient.
Proving to be a popular day and night for events, West Arthur CRC held their NCW Games Night on the evening of Friday 10 May, where 30 community members enjoyed a night of games and puzzles (see cover image). The aim of the night was to detach from technology and reconnect with each other, while enjoying some interesting new board games and a meal provided by a local caterer.
Newman Neighbourhood Centre held an open day on Saturday 11 May, welcoming 170 people and putting on face-painting, sausage sizzle, and inviting locals to hold stalls showcasing their wares. One special community member brought his ice-cream van, and the local ambulance and fire volunteers came by with their trucks.
In addition to the amazing events mentioned above, another 19 Centres were able to hold events thanks to the NCW grant opportunity. All in all, 14 Neighbourhood Centres and 11 CRCs were able to hold events. 17 regional events were held and 8 were in metro areas.
We’d like to express our sincere thanks to all Centres who held events, all Centres who applied for funding, and to Lotterywest for their generous contribution to our sector!
