Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre

The Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre is known for its positive and friendly attitude to both people and services.  We are community builders - not just service providers: we facilitate belonging.  We work with people, not for them, and we are excited by what can be achieved by working together with our Burdekin community.

The team at Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre aims to provide a service that is Welcoming, Respectful, Accountable & Professional.  All our services, activities, and programs are delivered within a community development framework that aims to provide an environment for our community to support and respond to each other's needs.

We aim to:

• help strengthen relationships within our community by creating community connections and belonging through facilitation and participation
• Connect people with social and economic participation and opportunities to improve their resilience and prospects
• Support people to feel a sense of control in decisions that affect their lives
• Increase participation around people's concerns and interests

Hosting people requires giving time, and creating inviting spaces that make people feel valued. Holding space is about valuing people's stories, and allowing time for connections to be made. Approaching service delivery and community participation from this perspective creates new connections, support, opportunities and even new personal beliefs about self and others. It creates community.

The Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre has been part of the Burdekin Shire community since 1987, when a community-minded group of women, saw the need for a community centre that was available to all residents. In 1994 funding was received from the State Government Department of Communities.  Today, Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre is an incorporated community-based organisation, operating out of the Neighbourhood Centre at 40 Chippendale Street, Ayr.  Over the years the Centre has grown and now welcomes, on average, 7 000 people every year who participate in a wide variety of groups and activities.

The Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre’s mission is to make the lives of the people of the Burdekin community better, every day. 

The Centre is governed by an enthusiastic committee of volunteer community members elected by the membership of the organisation. 

The Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre has developed strong links with both local, regional and state services. We see that it is imperative that these links are formed and nurtured to ensure that the local community is not disadvantaged by our location and proximity to a large regional city – Townsville.  As a community organisation, Burdekin Neighbourhood Centre promotes collaborative working relationships with local and regional organisations and networks to maximize the most effective use of resources in meeting local community needs.