COMMUNITIES THAT RUN SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS

What it takes to build strong, enterprising and sustainable towns

Residents, community leaders and program coordinators from small towns across Australia are invited to this week’s Rural Aid webinar on successful community campaigns featuring two case studies, one addressing ageism and the other attracting tourism.

Each week, Rural Aid delivers a free webinar as part of the Community Builders series, and this Thursday at 4pm AEST the focus is on two towns with under 1000 people and their community campaigns

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said the webinar is built to inspire and motivate small towns to take control of their futures.

“This week we’ll travel to Dirranbandi, a small country town famous for its cotton production, to hear about their successful Great Escape tour, created to boost the local economy and introduce city-based visitors to the local lifestyle,” Mr Warlters said.

The Great Escape Package paid holiday not only included a visit to the local show, but guests were able to see what the area is known for by visiting cotton crops, wineries and enjoying breakfast on the river. 

“Third generation local farmer Frank Deshon will be joining the program to tell the story of how it all came together.”

The second town to feature in this week’s webinar in Pingelly, in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia.

“Pingelly faced the challenge of an ageing population made up of dedicated locals who had given much to the community and were reluctant to move away into aged care facilities or closer to health centres. They wanted to stay at home and stay in their town,” Mr Warlters explained.

“The Pingelly Somerset Alliance have developed a model that allowed older residents to stay in their homes, in their towns, and get the care and support they needed, through a most innovative approach.”

Listeners will hear this story from proud local Helen Morton, the former WA Minister for Mental Health, Disability Services and Child Protection.

The free webinar series, sponsored by Bushells, was created during the early months of Covid-19 restrictions to support small towns in rural and remote Australia in developing stronger futures in the face of adversity.  

The webinars are hosted by Peter Kenyon, community change and renewal expert from The Bank of Ideas. Attendees can ask questions through the chat function of the webinar platform.

To register to be part of the Community Builders Series, visit: ruralaid.org.au/towns/webinars

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About Rural Aid

Rural Aid is one of Australia’s largest rural charities. Well known for the highly successful ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign, the charity also provides financial assistance, water and counselling to farmers in times of drought, flood or fire. Other initiatives support its vision that farming and rural communities are safeguarded to ensure their sustainability both during and after these natural disasters. Visit www.ruralaid.org.au for further information on these programs and other support for our rural communities.

Media: 0447 116 757 | media@admin.media.ruralaid.org.au

Spokesperson: Rural Aid CEO John Warlters | 0409 618 641

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