Ping pong, Pizza, and Preparedness at Jiggi Hall
In an uplifting community event, Jiggi Hall recently hosted the first-ever ‘Ping Pong, Pizza, and Preparedness’ (PPP) gathering, organised by the Lismore City Council Community Recovery team. The idea for the PPP sprang from a casual conversation between Lismore Council’s Community Recovery team and the Red Cross Flood Recovery Officer. Recognising the need for an innovative approach to disseminate recovery and preparedness information to our rural communities, we collaboratively embarked on this journey.
During routine community hall audits, it was discovered that many halls had a ping pong table, a simple yet effective form of entertainment. With a stroke of wordplay genius, the PPP was born. The local halls embraced this novel approach to preparedness and recovery with enthusiasm and dedication.
The inaugural event drew more than 60 attendees from Jiggi and surrounding areas. They had the opportunity to learn from speakers including the CROs and representatives from the Red Cross, NSW Rural Fire Service, Jiggi Resilience Network Emergency Radio Network, and NSW State Emergency Service. These experts shared invaluable insights on personal, pet, livestock, and residential recovery and preparedness actions. Additionally, over 70 ‘Grab n Go’ bags, a fantastic initiative led by the Lismore Council CRO, were distributed, and filled with resources for recovery, preparedness, and mental health support.
The Lismore Council Community Recovery team facilitated a panel-style Q&A session following the informative presentations. Attendees were treated to the famous Jiggi Hall wood-fired pizzas and dessert, funded by the Lismore City Council through the NSW Reconstruction Authority. This concept has been such a success that CROs from neighbouring LGAs have reached out for guidance on implementing similar initiatives in their own communities.
The concept of free ping pong and pizza encouraged a good turnout from the community. The kids could play ping pong whilst parents could garner pertinent information hassle-free. As previously mentioned, participants from other communities attended and either expressed interest in replicating the event model or having an initial meet and greet with the community to begin developing the foundations of a working relationship with the Council.
Comments from the community included the following statement from the Jiggi Hall President.
 
“Friday night was really successful. We have had lots of positive feedback. There were lots of people there and many of them were people who do not regularly come to events at the Hall. One of the members of the community commented on how much better it was to have organised speakers rather than the Community Day where you had to wander around and obtain the information yourself. If you didn’t know what questions to ask you didn’t necessarily get the information you required so that was the difference for this person. It has also made them think about how very isolated they are and consider ways to decrease their isolation… Thank you for all your support and organisation…”
 
Link to event timelapse video (5 seconds)