Greater Shepparton City Council, have provided six communities across the region with grants to hold a Neighbour Day event. Neighbour Day, held this year on Sunday 31 March, is Australia's annual celebration of community, encouraging belonging and inclusion within local communities. The theme for Neighbour Day 2024 is "Create Belonging - Share Belonging".
In summary:
- Council has granted funds to six communities for Neighbour Day events
- Neighbour Day, celebrated on March 31, promotes community belonging and inclusion
- Events funded by the Community Planning Implementation Fund (CPIF) include tennis smash and bash, movie night, community dinner, clean-up day, and barbeques
- Residents encouraged to participate in upcoming events; dates to be confirmed and shared on Neighbour Day website
The grant was available through Council's Community Planning Implementation Fund (CPIF), where Community Planning Groups and Community Asset Committees had the opportunity to apply for funds to host a Neighbour Day event in their community in March or April. Some funded communities held their event during the Easter period, whilst others will hold theirs in the coming months.
Six communities were successful in their funding applications, including Murchison, Merrigum, Dookie, Dhurringile, Tallygaroopna and Shepparton East. These community's shared in a funding pool of $5,000, with the money being used for events including a tennis smash and bash session in Murchison, a movie night in Tallygaroopna, community dinner in Dhurringile, clean-up day and barbeque in Dookie, community barbeque in Shepparton East and an Easter event in Merrigum.
Mayor, Councillor Shane Sali, congratulated the successful community groups on their applications.
"It is always fantastic to see these sort of events in our smaller towns, especially ones which bring the community together," he said.
"I am thrilled that our Community Planning Implementation Fund has offered these grants. I encourage residents to get involved in the upcoming events as they will be a fantastic opportunity to get your family together and have some fun."
The date and times of these events will be shared on the Neighbour Day website once confirmed.
