Media release

21 March 2011

For immediate release

Westpac encourages customers to ‘make a difference in your neighbourhood’

Westpac customers and visitors to its website will be seeing another red logo this week, as Westpac has joined Burger Wisconsin and communico in supporting Neighbours Day Aotearoa 2011, a ‘national celebration of neighbourliness’ this weekend – 26 – 27 March.

Neighbours Day Aotearoa is about encouraging Kiwis to celebrate great neighbourhoods and get to know our neighbours better. The idea is for all New Zealanders to make time in the last weekend of March to talk and have fun with their next door neighbours – even if it’s for the very first time.

It is organised by a team from LIFEWISE, Inspiring Communities and Methodist Missions Aotearoa, all not-for-profit organisations with a focus on supporting strong local communities.

“It’s great to see community and businesses coming together to support this vision”, says Rebecca Harrington from the organising team. We’re really grateful to Westpac, Burger Wisconsin and communico for their assistance in spreading the word. They all understand the potential long-term benefits of this campaign and how it could make a real difference to the quality of life in New Zealand.”

Suzie Marsden, Westpac’s head of sustainability says the driving force behind Neighbours Day Aotearoa is the belief that people who know their neighbours feel safer at home, enjoy a greater sense of well being, and feel more able to contribute to their community.

“Westpac absolutely recognises the value of this and is pleased to be supporting this innovative campaign, especially now when community support has been so important for our staff and customers in Christchurch” says Suzie.

As well as making time for our neighbours this weekend - putting the jug on, getting the barbeque or hangi ready and saying ‘gidday’ or ‘kia ora’, Rebecca says there is also a focus on neighbours getting together for Christchurch. “Over the last few weeks, we’ve all witnessed the power of good neighbours to get local communities through extremely difficult and painful times. We recognise it is very timely to be encouraging kiwis to get to know our neighbours - both in times of disaster and in everyday life.

“We also want to stand with Christchurch and acknowledge Aotearoa’s strong community spirit, both locally and nationally,” says Rebecca. “We see this weekend as another special opportunity for Kiwi neighbourhoods to join together and contribute to relief appeals for Christchurch.”

Three things Kiwis can do this weekend for Neighbours Day Aotearoa:

1. Go online to www.neighboursday.org.nzfor ideas on how to take part, and to ‘sign up’

2. Show neighbourliness where you live – from a simple wave to sharing baking, visiting, barbequing, organising a street party or even a clothes swap.

3. During the celebrations, remember to pass around the hat and contribute to fundraising efforts for Christchurch.

Building a neighbourly culture through online culture
The Neighbours Day Aotearoa team has been working to get the message of knowing your neighbours out throughout New Zealand, measuring success by those ‘sign up’ at the website: www.neighboursday.org.nz. The site, built with help from communico, is central to the campaign. It provides tools, tips, and real stories and ideas from Kiwis to inspire us all to connect with our neighbours in our own way.

“The website is vital as it enables people to participate wherever they are, ensuring this is not about any single event or organisation, but about all streets and neighbourhoods,” says Rebecca.

You can also follow Neighbours Day Aotearoa on: (Facebook.com/NeighboursDay) and Twitter (@neighboursday).

Already people from Kaitaia to Invercargill have visited the website and signed up, largely thanks to dozens of community or socially focused organisations, and several local Councils, that have been spreading the word over recent months. Westpac’s support, promoting the message to its staff and 1 million customers, in branches and online, is expected to boost the visitors at www.neighboursday.org.nz significantly.

Burger Wisconsin has provided a tasty ‘thank you’ for people who take part, with a special treat offer for those who signup at www.neighboursday.org.nz.

“We hope thousands of Kiwis will get involved and sign up at the website by the end of March. However most important is simply that people hear the message and take the opportunity to get together with their neighbours,” says Rebecca.

Many volunteers are also spreading the word in their own local communities, especially in Auckland where a first successful Neighbours Day was held in 2009. Almost half those participating (based on website sign ups) are from Auckland. “It’s not surprising given the large population and the success of the 2009 celebration”, says Rebecca. “We’re sure other regions will soon catch up though as word spreads. We know there are awesome neighbourhoods all around New Zealand, and we’d love to hear from them!”

“We see this as something that belongs to all New Zealanders,” says Rebecca, “The idea is to be a catalyst for building stronger communities. We hope this will become an annual celebration as part of our Kiwi culture.”

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Background

Why neighbourhood matters

John McCarthy, General Manager LIFEWISE (www.lifewise.org.nz) says knowing our neighbours is one of the best antidotes to many social concerns, especially the isolation being experienced by both young and older people in New Zealand. “Having a social worker on every street is not the cure for social isolation. Strong, safe, respectful, fun neighbourhoods are what we need more of and that’s what Neighbours Day Aotearoa is all about.”

“Belonging to a positive local community is one of our most basic needs and is what people say is part of being Kiwi but that many say has been lost in recent years. They would like to get back but they just don’t know how to do it. We know that people who know their neighbours feel safer at home, enjoy a greater sense of well being, and feel more able to contribute to their community.”

Mary-Jane Rivers of Inspiring Communities says the communities the organisation is connected to have many inspiring anecdotes of the power of neighbourliness (see www.Inspiringcommunities.org.nz). “We hope that those who are already great neighbours, or are learning about being more active in their neighbourhoods, will share their stories and ideas and inspire those who wanting to take a first step.”

New Zealand’s very first Neighbours Day was held in Auckland in 2009.

Neighbours Day Aotearoa builds on a successful Auckland Neighbours Day orchestrated by LIFEWISE and supported by Inspiring Communities and others in October 2009, which in turn grew from a joint LIFEWISE– Takapuna Methodist Church “Know Your Neighbours Project”. This was led by Rebecca Harrington who as a Community Development Worker on the North Shore has helped a large number of residents to fulfil their wish to know their neighbours.

In 2010 LIFEWISE joined up with Inspiring Communities and Methodist Missions around the country to create Neighbours Day Aotearoa as something every kiwi can get involved in.

LIFEWISE provided the seed funding for the project. Further funding and partnerships for 2011 and beyond are sought, to help ensure everyone people in every locality in NZ can hear about and can take part in Neighbours Day Aotearoa. Current supporters can be seen on the website www.neighboursday.org.nz (updated regularly as more and more groups get involved).

The organisers of Neighbours Day Aotearoa

The team behind Neighbours Day is a partnership between:

• LIFEWISE – An Auckland based social service agency supporting thousands of children, families and older people each year. LIFEWISE was responsible for Auckland’s Big Sleep Out in October 2010, where business and community leaders slept rough for a night to raise awareness and understanding about homelessness.

• Inspiring Communities – An organisation supporting a community-led approach to societal economic and environmental development in NZ with a vision for stronger, more resilient local communities.

• Methodist Missions Aotearoa – A national network of social service agencies aligned to the Methodist Church of NZ (including LIFEWISE) with diverse geographical and cultural representation.

Neighbours Day Aotearoa : an Introduction

WHAT is Neighbours Day Aotearoa?

Neighbours Day Aotearoa is about turning streets into neighbourhoods: We want to encourage New Zealanders to go one step further in getting to know their neighbours.

That may mean a first wave or smile, a chat over the fence, inviting one neighbour in for a cuppa or holding a street barbeque. It’s not about big events, but local activity in every street and neighbourhood.

WHY Neighbours Day Aotearoa is needed

National research in 2008* showed that 72% of people in NZ were interested in getting to know their neighbours better (81% in Auckland).

The Neighbours Day Development Team believes that through fostering better connected neighbourhoods and more everyday ‘neighbourliness’, all NZ communities can be stronger and more resilient.

WHO is it for?

Neighbours Day Aotearoa is something for ALL New Zealanders to be involved in. Our long term vision is for every household in NZ to mark this day and join in the fun – and to increasingly share more neighbourliness, whanaungatanga, everyday. This celebration belongs to everyday Kiwis; it is not about any particular organisation, group or activity.

Other neighbour celebrations around the world

• In Europe Neighbours Day started in one area of Paris; ten years later it has spread to 30 countries. (http://www.european-neighbours-day.com)

• One million UK neighbours now share lunch for the UK’s annual Big Lunch (http://www.thebiglunch.com/index.php)

Australia’s Neighbour Day is celebrated each year on the last Sunday in March (http://www.neighbourday.org).

For more information visit www.neighboursday.org.nz
or email kiaora@neighboursday.org.nz

ENDS

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