The Gippsland Pride Initiative Inc. have watched on in awe as volunteers, emergency workers and the whole community have gotten behind the bushfire relief effort. 

As a new self-funded LGBQTI community organisation lead by volunteers, we unfortunately aren’t positioned or have funds at our disposal to contribute as much as we’d like. However, we have worked hard to find a couple of ways that we hope, can support East Gippslanders and the wider region impacted by these events, in our own way.

Firstly, we will soon be launching our tickets to the 2020 Pride Gala in May at a reduced ‘Early Bird’ cost rate of $75 + gst ($82.50). Given the current strain and distress upon our East Gippsland community in particular, this rate will be fixed for the duration of ticket sales for those with East Gippsland post codes or emergency services volunteers. All other tickets will be $100 + gst at the conclusion of the ‘Early Bird’ period.

In our ticketing platform soon to be released, we will also activate a facility for donation where a ticket may be purchased for a person in need, or alternatively, funds (however small or large) may be contributed towards free tickets which we can then ballot and provide as priority to impacted community members.

Transport – the Gippsland Pride Initiative Inc. will be facilitating a FREE bus departing Bairnsdale to Lardner Park (and return) for those with tickets requiring transport to the May 23 Gala event. Please indicate this when purchasing a ticket.

Additionally, we will have a limited amount of Gippsland Pride Merchandise (keyrings, magnets and stickers) available for a gold coin donation at our Midsumma stall on Sunday January 19th. Any funds raised from these items will be allocated directly to further enable additional discount or complimentary ticketing. 

Finally, our Committee Members Sally Conning, Russell Wright (CFA) and Sarah Clarke attended headspace Bairnsdale (171 Main St, Bairnsdale) on Sunday 10th January alongside Commissioner Ro Allen and Switchboard CEO, Joe Ball for an informal opportunity for LGBTQI community members to connect in a low key and dedicated space to query and discuss supports going forward.

We hope these measures go some small way in supporting our East Gippsland family, and ensuring continued connection of LGTBQI people from across our great region, in good times and bad.

Sincerely,
Gippsland Pride Initiative Inc. Committee

For further information, please refer to the ‘Ticket Launch’ post to follow in coming days on our Facebook page. Contact: admin@gippslandpride.com