11th January 2021

 

In 2020 the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre initiated the year of Kindness to promote greater care for each other in our local community. A team of positive and passionate volunteers, known as the Kindness Crew, delivered a number of community activities such as the Kindness Mural at the front of the community centre, Kindness Doors with positive messaging placed in our schools and local businesses and as a finale the World Kindness Day Art Festival in November. With COVID-19 lockdowns starting in March, Kindness became more important across the community in supporting one another through the many challenges.

Following on from the year of Kindness, this year the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre is introducing 2021 as the year of fun.

“It’s no secret the region, along with the rest of the world, is on the tail end of an incredibly difficult time. In many ways, we’re still in the midst of it,” HBNC operations manager Christian Berechree said.

“We don’t want to force positivity but we do want to encourage resilience and connection, and celebrate the many things that make our community such a wonderful place to live.”

 

While we acknowledge the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 we would like to encourage the community to engage in positive themed activities over the next 12 months. These activities are designed to bring happiness and fun through connection with each other.

“Calling 2021 the Year of Fun is not about pretending the struggles don’t exist - it’s about finding enjoyable ways to move forward as a community,” HBNC CEO Tanya Stevenson said.

“We hope many businesses, organisations and community members get on board with our Year of Fun ideas, download our resources and find their own ways to promote fun in their circles.”

 

Our theme for January is Chalk It Up and we have packed some fun bags including some sticks of chalk for you to leave messages that foster greater joy in our community. You can write your messages on your driveway, pathway, sidewalk as long as the messages or drawings are in the community spirit of fun and goodwill. Please take a photo of your message and post to our Facebook page with the hashtag #FraserFUN.

 

To download our Year of Fun resources, visit: http://www.hbnc.com.au/resources

 

Caption: Christian Berechree (Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, operations manager)