Encircle Community Services bags the SRJ Walker Wayland Award for Not-for-Profit Excellence at the 2022 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards.

The Southeast Queensland registered charity with neighbourhood centres, housing and homelessness services, counselling, older persons support, and a host of other community initiatives

Encircle Chief Executive Officer Chris Staines highlighted that the award was a testament to the passion and persistence of its volunteers, staff and the broader community.

“The past few years have been tough on many people, particularly those that were marginalized long before Covid came, and our housing market took a swing toward investors selling up and southerners buying in,” said Staines.

“Add on interest rate hikes and cost of living soaring, and it’s a recipe for difficult times for anyone, let alone those struggling with unemployment, reduced income and poor mental health.”

The Encircle Community Services made it their mission to not just support the community in the toughest of times, but to help them build their own knowledge, skills and networks for self-efficacy and advocacy.

“We work to build their capacity and resilience so that they are less reliant on others and more able and capable of fulfilling their own desires and goals.”

Encircle Community Services has 45 employees across its three neighbourhood centres and community programs and more than 130 volunteers who help run programs such as literacy groups and English conversational groups and keep the operations running with maintenance and gardening among other support services.

“A community organisation can’t exist without its community, and we are very fortunate to have such a great community in Moreton Bay who support us,” he added.

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