HELP your neighbour, central Victorian agencies are urging in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Bendigo Foodshare, Haven; Home, Safe, Bendigo Community Health and the City of Greater Bendigo have banded together to launch a campaign encouraging people to show kindness.
'Help Your Neighbour' highlights the things central Victorians can - and are - doing to support one another.
While it was important to follow Department of Health and Human Services guidelines to minimise the spread of COVID-19, like social distancing, Bendigo Foodshare chair Cathie Steele said it was important to stay connected.
She said neighbourhoods and communities had always found ways to work with each other by sharing resources and checking on others.
"We know there are many in our community doing great things to help others and we hope others will be inspired to do the same," Ms Steele said.
"Whether that's a phone tree in your community, having scripts filled, making a phone call to check in each day, or chatting over the fence, it's important we reach out to make sure others are ok.
"So many people do want to help each other, and it's beautiful."
Bendigo Foodshare manager Bridget Bentley said she had heard many stories where neighbours were staying connected, whether it was leaving eggs by the agapanthus in the driveway for a friend or asking a neighbour to deliver a bucket of apples to another.
"People are amazing and resilient," Ms Bentley said.
"We want to tap into that and help mobilise neighbourhoods and the broader central Victorian community to think about how they can help each other through this time."
Suggestions included:
- Put rolls of toilet paper on your neighbour's doorstep or leave them a home cooked meal
- Set up a phone tree
- Leave your number in your neighbour's mailbox, asking them if they need anything
- Call to have a chat
- Virtual lunch or morning tea with colleagues
- Shop for a neighbour
- Sharing produce from your veggie patch
- Start using the backyard fence to have neighbour chats
- Volunteer to help others in need, for example, Bendigo Foodshare
- Support a local business
The campaign has a Facebook page - Helpyourneighbour.centralvic - celebrating the big hearts of central Victorians.
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