Aussie Broadband continues to Change the Game with the Gippsland Pride Initiative!

Aussie Broadband and its Managing Director, Phillip Britt, are proud to announce a combined donation of $50,000 to the Gippsland Pride Initiative.

"As a member of that community and as someone who has experienced those challenges firsthand, Gippsland Pride's work is critical," Phil, who is personally donating $25,000 to the cause, said.

Aussie Broadband and Phil's donations will go a long way to ensuring LGBTIQ+ people in the Gippsland region have safe and accessible access to healthcare, mental health services, and safe spaces for the community. The additional funding will also allow the Gippsland Pride Initiative to facilitate training for health professionals and community educators to better address the needs of the Gippsland LGBTIQ+ community, as identified in the recent Rainbow Brick Road survey.

“The donations that Aussie Broadband and I have made will allow Gippsland Pride to move from their totally volunteer base, to having the support of a dedicated staff member to further their work,” said Phil.

The Gippsland Pride Initiative was launched in 2019 by the Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby. The Initiative conducted an extensive three-month consultation process across the Gippsland region, meeting with local community, LGBTIQ+ organisations and other related bodies, to develop and plan inclusive events for LGBTIQ+ people in the Gippsland community.

Today, the organisation has grown dramatically, and is responsible for the organisation of several key LGBTIQ+ events across Gippsland, including the inaugural Gippsland Pride Festival held in January of this year. President, Caitlin Grigsby, describes the organisation as a grassroots movement fuelled by passionate volunteers and community sponsorship, that advocates and empowers the LGBTIQ+ community in Gippsland.

Caitlin highlights the importance of the organisation within the community, particularly after the intense commentary and debate during the 2017 Marriage Equality Plebiscite saying, “it was impossible to sit and do nothing for our bruised community, particularly in a federal seat that voted No.” She describes the experience of forming the Gippsland Pride Initiative as a journey of shared learning and has brought the power and voice back to the community.

In 2022, the Gippsland Pride Initiative launched the Rainbow Brick Road Project. The project was a large-scale survey of the region’s LGBTIQ+ people, to better understand the needs of the community, the urgency of support required, and to collect the data necessary to better allocate resources and funding to these communities.

The response from the community was overwhelming, signalling that greater resources are needed from the government and other services to support the region’s LGBTIQ+ people. The Rainbow Brick Road Report 2023 has now been published; its key findings, and recommendations can be found on the Gippsland Pride Initiative site.

Aussie Broadband have been key supporters of the Gippsland Pride Initiative since its formation. Each year Aussie has donated time, money, and professional networks to assist in the development of the organisation and build their resources to help more people from the community who are in need.

Caitlin says that the support and funding provided by Aussie Broadband and Phil is a “game changer,” and will transform the impact the organisation can make to the community. Building on the recommendations provided by the Rainbow Brick Road Report, the Gippsland Pride Initiative hopes to establish an LGBTIQ+ Health and Services Hub, connecting gender affirming healthcare, supported employment, advocacy and educational opportunities to the region, and hope to show government and other community services positive impacts to the Gippsland region that are, “hard to ignore,” to secure more funding.

"By shining a spotlight on these issues, government will look to provide better support to the Gippsland LBGTIQ+ community," Phil said. "We strongly believe in the work Gippsland Pride are undertaking and look to continue supporting their initiatives for years to come.”

“We have no doubt Aussie Broadband will be walking alongside us in bringing this to fruition for our region,” Caitlin said.

The Gippsland Pride Initiative will be hosting their sold-out Gippsland Pride Gala on Saturday 3 June, at Lardner Park in Warragul. The Gala will be a special evening celebrating the region’s LGBTIQ+ community with a 3-course dinner, live performances, music and plenty of other surprises! You can join the waitlist for a ticket on the Gala’s Humanitix page, and can also get involved by sponsoring or partnering with the Gippsland Pride Initiative by contacting their email.