The Greater Shepparton Foundation builds partnerships and collaborations to connect the needs of the local community with essential resources and skills to tackle and disrupt the cycle of disadvantage. The Foundation Features series will help shine a light on those driving change through innovative initiatives, as well as highlight community organisations that align with the foundation’s purpose.
As the annual OUTintheOPEN Festival 2022 draws to a close this weekend we reflect with pride on the diversity of our great community.
The two-week festival led by Goulburn Valley Pride Inc, now in its 11th year, provides a myriad of free and ticketed events as an opportunity to celebrate LGBTIQA+ pride.
OUTintheOPEN was developed to address some of the inequalities faced by the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex, queer, asexual (LGBTIQA+) communities and to build a more inclusive Greater Shepparton.
A festival is a great way to bring people together and the aims of the OUTintheOPEN Festival are similar to that of GSF’s: to create inclusive, interconnected communities where everybody has an equal opportunity to participate.
Huge congratulations must go to Damien, Georgina, Nicole, Deb, Colin, Jenni, Ruby, Cameron and all the volunteers and supporters who were involved in bringing together this year’s event.
GV Pride Shepparton is a past GSF grant recipient. Funds received last year supported activities and education of the organisation’s members and volunteers while our community recovered from the restrictions and isolation during COVID-19. The ‘GV Proud’ member/volunteer recovery program focused on improving the mental health, wellbeing and resilience of LGBTIQA+ people in the region.
GSF is a proud supporter of the initiatives of GV Pride and is pleased that the annual OUTintheOPEN Festival was on the annual event calendar again this year.
For more information on GV Pride activities you can visit www.gvpride.org or if you are a community group keen to find out more about the GSF small grants program that supported this local service, please visit the ‘small grants’ page on the GSF website: www.greatershepparton.foundation
Until next time,
Amanda McCulloch
Executive officer, Greater Shepparton Foundation