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Neighbours really matter
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the devastating floods in Queensland and New South Wales.
We acknowledge the incredible neighbourliness shown by those helping out, and by those impacted by the floods – often the same people. To the unofficial and official volunteers, emergency services, councils and community organisations doing whatever you can to help – thank you.
In good times and challenging times, knowing your neighbours makes a positive difference. It is with this in mind that this Verandah is all about connection, the benefits, and what you can do to connect with your neighbours this Neighbour Day - and every day.
In this edition, we release new research findings from Neighbour Day 2021, share a new Neighbourly Blog from Dr Leanne Beagley CEO of Mental Health Australia and launch our new Community Service Announcement video. We also announce the winners of our annual Tell Us Your Story Competition; invite you to follow the countdown on social media; join in with our selfie signs, and more!
We encourage everyone to join in and help us celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Neighbour Day and build the communities you want to live in - one relationship at a time.
So grab a cuppa and join us on your virtual Verandah!
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Countdown to Neighbour Day
To highlight 20 years of Neighbour Day, we have commenced a 20 day Countdown to Neighbour Day 27 March.
You may have noticed our new Neighbour Day website and possibly wondered about all the different Ns!
Each day on social media we will share the meaning of one of our 20 Ns and a related Connection Tip. We invite you to share these N posts and tips with your networks.
If you want to find out more about the Ns, and how to connect, look us up on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Today's N is Community - and therefore the perfect day to send out Verandah!
Connection Tip: Promote Neighbour Day tips, ideas and free resources to your community. Talk about Neighbour Day in your publications, e-newsletters and social media. Encourage people to take action and connect in their own neighbourhoods and communities.
Visit our website for ideas, more tips and free resources.
Whatever you decide to do (whether small or big!), together we can help end loneliness in Australia.
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Watch our new TVC!
In our annual Neighbour Day surveys, you have told us that a TV Commercial Community Service Announcement video would be a great asset to help spread the neighbourly word across the nation.
For our 20th anniversary gift to ourselves and to Australia – here it is!
We hope you like it and we invite you to share it on your social media channels.
Together we can help end loneliness.
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Loneliness, resilience and mental health
Relationships Australia has released the latest independent Neighbour Day research report by the Australian National University.
Findings show that in addition to reducing loneliness across the nation, Neighbour Day is particularly beneficial in promoting resilience and protecting the mental health of Australian community members during times of collective change or crisis.
Our research shows connected individuals and communities are more resilient in times of crises and that people involved in Neighbour Day across the years experience better mental health, sustained reductions in loneliness and reductions in psychological distress, which are all signs of ongoing resilience.
Read the media release here.
Full report here.
Summary infographic here.
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Neighbourly Blog
By Dr Leanne Beagley, Chief Executive Officer - Mental Health Australia
Personal connection in the new world
It is a new world.
The pandemic has left us with a new appreciation of our home and workspaces. It has left us with increased recognition of the important contribution school makes to families. It has reminded us how critically important the health, aged care and disability workforces are in supporting and caring for us, and those we love. We have all experienced some form of physical, and also social, isolation.
Most importantly from our point of view at Mental Health Australia, the pandemic has underlined the reality that connection between people is paramount to protecting our mental health. Before the pandemic when we talked about “mental health”, I think we meant “mental illness”. Whereas now there is broader community understanding now that mental health also means the impact of stress, grief, fear of the future and importantly loneliness.
Read the full blog here.
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You told us your stories
Relationships Australia, as the home of Neighbour Day, acknowledges the role of all Australians in helping to tackle loneliness.
To reflect the Neighbour Day: Connecting Communities for 20 years theme for 2022, we invited people to tell us their stories of connections in recent times, or perhaps over the years. These connections may be one-off moments or regular and lasting interactions that created one to one relationships or became the starting point for an ongoing group.
In recent years, Australians have endured difficult times. The winners of this year’s Tell Us Your Story competition showcase amazing stories of connection and kindness, and highlight the many acts Australians are taking to support each other throughout the pandemic, and beyond.
These stories are great examples of the Neighbour Day spirit in action. We hope they encourage you to do something neighbourly to celebrate this Neighbour Day 27 March. We encourage all Australians to take inspiration from these stories and to seek opportunities to connect with their neighbours in safe ways and to support each other.
We hope these stories give you the confidence to try something – whether small acts of kindness or big neighbourly actions, to create connections and stay connected – every day.
Winners*
National & NSW winner - Angela ($400 gift voucher prize)
NT - Kate ($100 gift voucher prize)
TAS - Ricky ($100 gift voucher prize)
WA - Debra ($100 gift voucher prize)
SA - Susan ($100 gift voucher prize)
QLD - Sarah ($100 gift voucher prize)
VIC - Hannah ($100 gift voucher prize)
Special Commendation Lisa ($100 gift voucher prize)
*No entries received from the ACT.
Read the winning stories here.
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Get social
Join in the fun on social media for our 20th anniversary and check out our I support / We support selfie signs. Instructions are on the back of the card.
Download and print, or just pop on your tablet, phone or laptop.
Take a pic or video with the sign in view and share on your favourite social media channels and tag @neighbourday
Our good friends and neighbours Maxwell and Darby have nailed the assignment!
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How to get involved made easy
Check out the NEW look Neighbour Day website to help you connect and stay connected.
You can register your event, activity or neighbourly action here and go into the draw to win a prize! This year for the first time, registered events that are open to the public will be listed and searchable on the Neighbour Day website with information and a map location.
Invitation-only events and actions will not be made public on the website, however, we appreciate and value online registrations of your neighbourly plans to celebrate and connect and you go into the draw for prizes.
Neighbour Day is the perfect opportunity to increase social connection in your local areas. You can celebrate in a variety of ways including hosting and supporting events that assist and engage your communities. We have a swag of neighbourly resources available for free download on the website.
For individuals and hosts – celebration information and ideas
For the workplace – celebration information and ideas
For councils – celebration information and ideas
For community organisations – celebration information and ideas
There are also additional special resources for councils and community organisations, including a Neighbour Day 2022 media release template, and more.
Relationships Australia, as the home of Neighbour Day, acknowledges the role of all Australians in helping to end loneliness.
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Days to connect in person or virtually
There are good (and often important!) reasons to connect every single day.
Here are a few days to help get you started.
And remember, every day is neighbour day.
March 5-13 Parks Week is about hundreds of organisations across Australia and New Zealand holding events to celebrate the vital role parks play in creating liveable cities and thriving communities. Parks Week 2022 will focus on how spending time in our parks and open spaces positively influence our well-being.
March 14 - 25 A Taste of Harmony celebrates diversity in Australian workplaces by encouraging colleagues to share food and stories from different cultural backgrounds.
March 15-22 April Passover - A Jewish holiday where people recite special blessings or prayers, visit their synagogue, listen to readings from the Torah, and eat a ceremonial meal, which is centred around the Seder Plate and red wine or red grape juice.
March 17 Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick"), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385-461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
March 18 Close the Gap Day - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are still dying 10 to 17 years younger than other Australians. For that reason, more than 40 national organisations came together in 2006 to form Close the Gap - Australia's largest ever campaign to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
March 18 Ride2SchoolDay day encourages children to become more active and healthy in and out of school. Children participate by walking, riding or scooting to school.
March 20 International Day of Happiness - Do something, big or small, to take part on 20 March and bring happiness to others. Everyone wants to be happy - and life is happier when we're together. So let's celebrate our common humanity. Join the community and be part of this special day.
March 20-27 Multiple Birth Awareness Week – Multiple Birth Awareness Week is a celebration of families raising twins, triplets, and more. The day also aims to raise awareness of the challenges that go hand-in-hand with raising these children.
March 21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - Celebrated on the anniversary of the 1960 shooting of 69 anti-apartheid protestors, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a reminder to continue breaking down all forms of racism and racial discrimination.
March 21 Naw-Ruz (New Year) Baha’I - is the Bahá'í and Iranian new year. It occurs on the date of the vernal equinox, and symbolises the new life of spring.
March 21 World Poetry Day - The United Nations describes poetry as another facet of the dialogue among cultures. World Poetry Day is a celebration of the contribution made to society by poetry. Why not pen a neighbourly poem?
March 26 Earth Hour – 830pm - Earth Hour is an international sustainability movement, where individuals and businesses are encouraged to turn off all lights for an hour. Earth Hour aims to increase awareness of the impact we have on our world through the use of fossil fuels and electricity.
March 21-27 National Playgroup Week - Playgroups perform an important role in providing parent and carer support and in promoting the value of play for young children. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful work undertaken all over Australia by dedicated parent and carer volunteers to keep playgroups running. A great way to connect!
March 21-27 Harmony Week - Celebrate our cultural diversity by living the Harmony Week message everyone belongs in your workplace, community, school, sporting group, local councils and state governments. From the traditional owners of this land to those who have come from many countries around the world. By participating in Harmony Week activities, we can learn and understand how all Australians from diverse backgrounds equally belong to this nation and enrich it.
March 21-27 Neurodiversity Celebration Week - Neurodiversity Celebration Week currently has over 600 schools taking part across the UK, Australia, Canada and the US. The campaign aims to change negative perceptions about autism and learning differences. It also aims to encourage schools flip the narrative from focusing on the challenges and difficulties that neurodiverse students face, to also focusing on their talents and strengths.
March 27 Neighbour Day - Neighbour Day is Relationships Australia’s social connection campaign. It aims to support and enable sustainable respectful relationships across communities, while also helping to address loneliness across the nation. Celebrations can occur at any time throughout the year however Neighbour Day is noted annually as the last Sunday in March. Why not do something neighbourly to celebrate Neighbour Day: Connecting Communities for 20 years!
March 21-28 Cultural Diversity Week (VIC) – Multiculturalism is a core part of the Victorian identity, character and way of life. As home to people from all corners of the world, Victoria is a place where anyone can contribute and belong. This year's Cultural Diversity Week theme pushes the boundaries and asks: What does multicultural Victoria look like in 2030? Through a hybrid offering of in-person and digital events, they invite participants to ask the big questions, spark constructive conversations and envision the future of Victorian multiculturalism.
March 25 – 3 April NSW Seniors Festival is the largest festival for seniors in the Southern Hemisphere, reaching up to 500,000 seniors each year. If you are over 60, NSW Seniors Festival gives you the chance to make new friends or get together with old ones at an array of local community events, many which are free or heavily discounted.
April 2 World Autism Awareness Day - Throughout the month, the focus is on sharing stories and providing opportunities to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism, fostering worldwide support.
April 2 – 1 May Ramadan - (also known as Ramadhan or Ramzan) is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It is a period of prayer, fasting, charity-giving and self-accountability for Muslims in Australia.
April 6-16 Nature Play Week - 12 days filled with events. Getting kids into nature. Creating a sense of wonder. Organised by organisations all over Victoria and beyond.
April 14 Vaisakhi (Baisakhi) – is the Hindu and Sikh solar new year. It is additionally a spring harvest festival for many Indians.
April 15 Good Friday - Many Christians around the world observe Good Friday on the Friday before Easter Sunday. It commemorates Jesus Christ's Passion, crucifixion, and death, which is told in the Christian Bible.
April 17 Easter Sunday - Many Christians celebrate Easter Sunday as the day of Jesus Christ's resurrection, and also, as a cultural holiday. Why Easter eggs? Eggs represent new life and rebirth, and it is thought that this ancient custom became a part of Easter celebrations. In the medieval period, eating eggs was forbidden during Lent (the 40 days before Easter), so on Easter Sunday, feasting on an egg was a real treat!
April 22 Earth Day is a celebration of the environment we all share. It also acts as a day of conservation awareness.
April 25 Anzac Day has become more than a commemoration of the day ANZAC troops landed on the beach at Gallipoli in 1915, it is a day of remembrance for all Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.
April 28 Pay It Forward Day is a global initiative that exists to make a difference by creating a huge ripple of kindness felt across the world.
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Keeping you & your neighbours safe
We recommend that people make themselves aware of the public health authorities’ advice and only do whatever neighbourly actions that are safe to do.
Visit https://www.health.gov.au/ to stay up to date and informed, so that you can keep your neighbourhood healthy.
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