For anyone who has relocated to or is thinking of moving to Brisbane, this is for you.
The Joy Project is a service providing practical information and personal connection, served with a side order of joy, to new arrivals. They aim to make the transition as smooth and easy as possible. They offer support as you navigate relocation, as you settle in, and they bring you some JOY at the same time.
Their mission is to provide friendship and support to people who move to Brisbane, and it’s a mission they take very seriously. So seriously in fact that they meet for coffee once a fortnight and hug anyone brave enough to join them.
They welcome newcomers to the beautiful River City in two ways. The first is by providing practical information to help you find your way around. They have compiled information on anything from schools, medical centers, shopping centers and hairdressers in your area. Anything they don’t know, they will help you find out.
The second service The Joy Project offers is an invitation to social functions where you are presented with the opportunity for friendships and support for spouses and families of people who have relocated to Brisbane.
Joy meet regularly for social events, offering a chance to relax and meet new friends. It’s free of charge apart from anything those who attend choose to buy to eat or drink.
The Joy Project is a truly remarkable initiative. It started in 2014 as an idea the size of a mustard seed when three friends were discussing how difficult it must be to settle in a new place.
Their own friendship is filled with laughter and the simple joy of companionship. The thought of a life without the gift that their friendship brings to each of them makes them sad. And it’s that loneliness they want to help newcomers avoid.
And so they took a leap of faith and decided they had enough joy to share with newcomers to Brisbane.
As with all seeds under just the right conditions, the idea grew into a beautiful living thing: The Joy Project
The Joy Project has a website on which you can find local information on just about anything. From hairdressers to doctors; from hospitals to massage therapists; white goods repair shops, recipes, and my personal favourite: How to do Ikea the easy way.
Whatever info you’re after, the girls at The Joy Project can help you find it. If it’s not already on their website they take questions and requests, and will find out whatever it is you want you know, if it is appropriate and of interest to other Joy Project-ers.
Every two weeks the girls host a coffee morning to which everyone’s invited. They advertise the coffee mornings on their website and on their Facebook page and they turn up on the morning, trusting that whoever needs a welcome and a hug will find their way there. And there hasn’t been a single event to which at least one person hasn’t turned up.
So if you are heading to Brisbane soon, or you know someone who is, make The Joy Project your first port of call. If you’ve been in Brisbane a little while and are struggling to find your feet, consider attending one of The Joy Project’s next coffee mornings. You won’t be sorry you did.