East Gippsland Water volunteers support Neighbourhood House Week celebrations

East Gippsland Water recently supported Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House by volunteering at two free community lunches held as part of Neighbourhood House Week, a nationwide attempt to host Australia’s largest community lunch.

“Neighbourhood House Week highlights the important role neighbourhood houses play in creating strong and connected communities across Australia,” said East Gippsland Water General Manager Customer, Community and Communications David Radford.

“Supporting Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House was a natural fit for us because of the incredible work they do locally.”

Across the two lunches, around 160 community members attended, enjoying barbecues, homemade salads, desserts and freshly squeezed juice prepared by volunteers.

This is just one-way East Gippsland Water support Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House, who provide a significant support to the local community. 

East Gippsland Water has supported the organisation since 2024 through quarterly $250 rebates on its water bills, helping fund essential services including washing facilities and the water used in the community kitchen to make food for people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage.

“Through our discussions with Leanne, it’s been clear that due to the nature of the washing machine services offered 24/7 to people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage – this is an area that makes sense for us to support David said.”

East Gippsland Water has been proud to support the water at the house since 2024 and look forward to continuing this partnership into the future.

“The Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House volunteers do an absolutely fantastic job in helping people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage in our community and we were delighted to have our employees give back to the community by volunteering their time to support the lunches.”

The event also gave East Gippsland Water employees an opportunity to speak with community members about local water priorities, helping inform the organisation’s next Urban Water Strategy and Price Submission.

Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House CEO Leanne Jennings said: Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House appreciates this kind of support from East Gippsland Water.

“Receiving support for our water bills helps us direct more funding toward supporting people experiencing hardship and delivering nutritious meals through our community kitchen,” said Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House CEO Leanne Jennings.

“As a not-for-profit organisation, partnerships with local businesses like East Gippsland Water make a real difference to the services we can provide.”

Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House provides a range of services and programs supporting people experiencing financial hardship, social isolation and homelessness, including affordable community meals and access to essential facilities.

For more information, visit the Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House Facebook page.