Who’s Who in 2022, Business and Community: Encircle

It’s been a big year for the not-for-profit community group Encircle, which was announced as the winner in the SJ Walker Wayland Award for Not-for-profit Excellence category at the 2022 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards in October.

Encircle was recognised for its hard work and dedication to helping people in need, such as handing out emergency food parcels to struggling families and individuals, organising the annual Moreton Bay Says No to Violence march, co-ordinating the 10^th annual Reconnect Event, hosting a free community barbecue to mark R U OK? Day, and spreading fun and cheer at its free family fun days.

About Encircle

Encircle has been operating since 1987 and has six sites across Queensland – Lawnton, Strathpine, Kallangur and Redcliffe in the Moreton Bay Region, along with Kedron and Zillmere in Brisbane.

It is a registered charity that provides a range of support services and activities to assist families and individuals in need.

Some of the services Encircle provides include emergency food relief, homeless outreach and early housing intervention, community legal services, counselling and family support, financial counselling, adult literacy, workshops and community fun days.

Encircle is also instrumental in raising awareness of issues such as homelessness, mental health, and domestic and family violence.

As part of Homelessness Week, which ran from August 1-7, Encircle was involved in the 10^th annual Reconnect Event, which provided an opportunity for those sleeping rough or struggling financially to connect with others in the community and receive assistance if needed.

To mark R U OK? Day, Encircle fired up the barbecue at the Pine Rivers Neighbourhood Centre and invited the community to come along for a free lunch on September 8. The event was well attended, with a bigger turnout than they were expecting!

On October 14, staff and volunteers from Encircle gathered with local police officers, businesses, community leaders and children from various schools across the Redcliffe peninsula for the annual Moreton Bay Says No to Violence march.

During the peaceful demonstration, hundreds of people walked down Redcliffe Pde to the Settlement Cove Ampitheatre. It was estimated more than 200 people took part in the march, sending a clear message that violence is not tolerated in the community.

Encircle has been a worthy winner of multiple awards at the Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards in recent years. In 2022, it was announced the winner in the SJ Walker Wayland Award for Not-for-profit Excellence category, and won the SRJ Walker Wayland award for Community Group of the Year in 2018.

If you need to access any of Encircle’s programs, you can visit the following locations:

• Pine Rivers Neighbourhood Centre: 685 Gympie Road, Lawnton.
• Kallangur Neighbourhood Centre, 51 Marsden Road, Kallangur.
• Redcliffe Neighbourhood Centre, 1 Lamington Drive, Redcliffe.