A lovely story of community connection...

Neighbour power at work ... our little Mixed Dozen DIY toolkit can be used to kick off this kind of interaction....

Last month, Bank of IDEAS received news of a fantastic initiative in New Zealand. Here is the story of Bruce Avenue in a couple of paragraphs –

“Ours is one of many streets that is largely dominated by apartments. None of these apartments have common rooms or areas and local residents had lost their sense of community. We started one small initiative on our street, hosting get-togethers on specials events. Since October 2014, this has flourished. It is a real demonstration of the need for greater community connection. We now hold weekly get-togethers at the park.

The benefits are not just about the social connections (which are invaluable) but; at least two people have been helped to find jobs, we have older residents volunteering to be much needed "adopted grandparents" at the local schools, upcoming grandparents day for children who do not have grandparents who live locally and recently when there was a lift breakdown, neighbours helped each other by getting groceries for others who are unable to use the fire stairs. We are rebuilding the "old fashioned" concept of community and want to encourage more of it across the Ku-ring-gai area. Please share our story.”

To find out more about Bruce Avenue, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bruce-Avenue/663638953749377