Find what's coming up
Due to the high demand for space, the Our Community calendar is used only for nationally significant events. Submissions for the calendar should be sent to service@ourcommunity.com.au.
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01-31 March
Organisation: The Royal Children's Hospital Westmead
The Bandaged Bear Appeal is The Children's Hospital at Westmead's largest annual fundraising appeal. Treating 100,000 patients every year, The Children's Hospital at Westmead relies on community generosity to raise essential funds for purchasing the most technologically advanced medical equipment, conducting vital research and maintaining the total healing environment that the Hospital is renowned for.
Website: bandagedbear.org.au/
01-31 March
National Epilepsy Awareness Month
Organisation: Epilepsy Australia
Dig out the best of your purple garb - March is National Epilepsy Awareness Month. Marked by a huge range of community activities, media campaigns and events, the month culminates on Purple Day on 26th March. Be part of the movement and help spread the word by wearing purple on March 26th.
Website: www.epilepsyaustralia.net
01-31 March
Australian Women's History Month
Women's History Month (WHM) is held annually in many parts of the world to acknowledge and document the role women play in making and shaping history.
Location: National
Website: womenshistory.net.au/
01-31 March
Organisation: QENDO
Endometriosis Awareness takes place across the globe during the month of March (and beyond) with a mission to raise awareness of a disease which affects an estimated 176 million women worldwide.
Location: National
Website: www.qendo.org.au/qendo-march
Phone: 1800 367 96636
Address: PO Box 336 STONES CORNER QLD 4120
01-31 March
Organisation: QENDO
March is #AdenomyosisAwarenessMonth. Adenomyosis is a disease of the uterus, and it can cause debilitating pain and severe menstrual bleeding for some women. Help raise awareness of this debilitating disease, and minimally invasive treatment.
Location: International
Website: www.qendo.org.au/
Phone: 1800 367 96636
Address: PO Box 336 STONES CORNER QLD 4120
Thu 03 March
Organisation: United Nations
On 20 December 2013, the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 3 March, the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as World Wildlife Day, to celebrate and raise awareness of the world's wild fauna and flora.
Location: International
Website: www.wildlifeday.org/
03-09 March
Organisation: Deafness Forum of Australia
One in six Australians is Deaf, Deafblind, hearing impaired or has a chronic ear disorder. Hearing Awareness Week provides an opportunity to explain that hearing health is an important issue for every Australian.
Location: National
05-10 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Humane Society International
Be Cruelty-Free Week aims to raise awareness of the leading global campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics. Join Humane Society International and their partners around the world as we fight to end cosmetics animal cruelty-forever. A great victory for animals was acheived by convincing Europe to become the world's largest cruelty-free cosmetics market. But in 8 out of 10 countries it's still legal to test beauty products and their ingredients on animals. Join HSI and help us convince the whole world to Be Cruelty-Free!
Location: International
Website: www.hsi.org/issues/becrueltyfree/be_cruelty_free.html
06-12 March
World Glaucoma Week raises awareness of the worldwide leading cause of irreversible blindness. The week also aims to raise funds to continue research in glaucoma.
Location: International
Website: www.worldglaucomaweek.org/
06-14 March
(date to be confirmed)
Parks Week is an annual celebration of the important role that our parks play in contributing to the health of our communities. A range of formal and informal events take place across Australia and New Zealand during parks week - there is something for everyone.
Location: National
Website: www.parks-week.org
07-13 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: World Action on Salt and Health (WASH)
Many people now know that eating too much salt is bad for their health and are looking to cut down. However, whilst you can take control of your salt intake when preparing food at home by reading the labels and not adding salt, when eating out out of the home it can be difficult to know where to start.
Location: International
Website: www.worldactiononsalt.com
Tue 08 March
Organisation: United Nations
International Women's Day is a day to celebrate the contribution and achievements of all women. It is an opportunity to remember the barriers that women have broken through, and the accomplishments they have made despite barriers.
Location: International
Website: www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day
10-14 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Leukaemia Foundation
Every hour somebody in Australia is diagnosed with lymphoma, myeloma or leukaemia. Every second hour, somebody dies from one of these diseases. The World's greatest shave has raised in excess of $120 million since 1998, and uses the raised funds to support patients and families living with these blood disorders. Funds are also used to support blood cancer research to help find better treatments and cures.
Website: www.worldsgreatestshave.com/
Fri 11 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Royal Bank of Canada
RBC Race for the Kids is part of Royal Bank of Canada's (RBC) "Kids Pledge," which is a five-year, $100 million commitment to improve the wellbeing of 1 million children and young people. Last year, the race took place in more than 15 locations including London, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Toronto, New York, Chicago, Sydney, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur, attracting more than 124,000 global participants. Since its launch in New York in 2008, RBC Race for the Kids has raised over US$27 million for children's charities around the globe. RBC supports a wide range of programs that address the needs of the 'whole' child - mind, body and spirit-so that all children have a chance to reach their potential someday.
Location: International
Website: rbcraceforthekids.com/
Fri 11 March
(date to be confirmed)
Diabetes and high blood pressure are both key risk factors for chronic kidney disease. World kidney Day aims to raise awareness of the importance of our kidneys to our health, and aims to reduce the impact of kidney disease worldwide.
Location: International
Website: www.worldkidneyday.org/
Fri 11 March
Organisation: World Plumbing Council
<p>The international plumbing community, as represented by the Council, has a vital role in promoting the link between good quality plumbing, health, environmental sustainability and, increasingly, economic prosperity. <p>March 11 is marked by celebrations, competitions, seminars, and activities all around the world. People from within and outside the plumbing fraternity come together to learn, share knowledge, build connections and find opportunities to collaborate to improve the quality of, and access to, fresh water and safe sanitation.
Location: International
13-20 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Coeliac Australia
Coeliac Awareness Week is held annually from 13-20 March. Coeliac disease remains one of the most under-diagnosed conditions in Australia. Public recognition of coeliac disease and the potential reactions to gluten (often self-diagnosed!) have never been higher, yet awareness of the condition among medical professionals continues to be low.
Website: www.coeliac.org.au/s/
13 March - 24 April
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: The Department of Family and Community Services NSW
NSW Seniors Festival is the largest festival for seniors in the Southern Hemisphere, reaching up to 500,000 seniors each year. If you are over 60, NSW Seniors Festival gives you the chance to make new friends or get together with old ones at an array of local community events, many which are free or heavily discounted.
Location: NSW
Website: www.seniorsfestival.nsw.gov.au/
Address: NSW Seniors Festival project team ASHFIELD BC NSW 1800
Mon 14 March
Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations held on the second Monday in March, and marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by HM Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth High Commissioners in London. The Queen delivers an address to the Commonwealth, broadcast throughout the world.
Location: International
Website: thecommonwealth.org/commonwealth-day
Mon 14 March
Canberra day is an annual public holiday in the ACT which celebrates Canberra's official founding in 1913.
Location: ACT
14-20 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Kidney Health Australia
With 1 in 3 Australians adults at risk of kidney disease, Kidney Health Week we are calling out to all Australians, particularly those living with diabetes and/or hypertension, to get a Kidney Health Check..
Location: National
Website: www.kidney.org.au
Address: VIC
14-25 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Scanlon Foundation
A Taste of Harmony celebrates diversity in Australian workplaces by encouraging colleagues to share food and stories from different cultural backgrounds.
Location: National
Website: www.tasteofharmony.org.au
15-21 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Australian Government
Celebrate our cultural diversity by living the Harmony Week message everyone belongs in your workplace, community, school, sporting group, local councils and state governments. - from the traditional owners of this land to those who have come from many countries around the world. By participating in Harmony Week activities, we can learn and understand how all Australians from diverse backgrounds equally belong to this nation and enrich it.
Location: National
Website: www.harmony.gov.au/
15-21 March
(date to be confirmed)
Neurodiversity Celebration Week
<p>Neurodiversity Celebration Week currently has over 600 schools taking part across the UK, Australia, Canada and the US. <p>The campaign aims to change negative perceptions about autism and learning differences. It also aims to encourage schools flip the narrative from focusing on the challenges and difficulties that neurodiverse students face, to also focusing on their talents and strengths.
Location: International
15 March - 22 April
Probably the best known Jewish holiday, Passover commemorates the story of the exodus, where the Israelites were freed from Egyptian slavery.
Location: International
Thu 17 March
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick"), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385-461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
Location: International
Fri 18 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Bicycle Victoria
Ride2School day encourages children to become more active and healthy in and out of school. Children participate by walking, riding or scooting to school.
Location: National
Website: www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and-events/ride2school/
Fri 18 March
Organisation: ANTaR
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are still dying 10 to 17 years younger than other Australians. For that reason, more than 40 national organisations came together in 2006 to form Close the Gap - Australia's largest ever campaign to improve the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Location: National
Website: antar.org.au/close-gap
Phone: 1800 088 110
18-22 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: WaterAid
1 in 9 people worldwide still don't have access to clean water close to home. For hundreds of millions of people, especially women and girls, that means long, dangerous and physically painful walks to collect water from sources that could be filthy. <p>10,000 steps is the equivalent of 100 minutes of walking or 8 kilometres. Track your steps using a WaterAid pedometer, which you can request after you sign up. <p>Ask your friends to sponsor you as you Walk for Water. Funds raised will help WaterAid reach people who have limited access to clean water sources.
Location: International
Website: www.walkforwater.org.au/
Sat 19 March
(date to be confirmed)
National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence
Organisation: Bullying. No Way!
The theme of the day encourages parents and families to take a stand together with school communities and recognise the important role that everyone plays to stop bullying.
Location: National
Website: bullyingnoway.gov.au/preventing-bullying/national-day-of-action-against-bullying-and-violence
Sun 20 March
International Day of Happiness
Organisation: United Nations
Do something, big or small, to take part on 20 March and bring happiness to others. Everyone wants to be happy - and life is happier when we're together. So let's celebrate our common humanity. Join the community and be part of this special day.
Location: International
Website: dayofhappiness.net/
Mon 21 March
Organisation: United Nations
Down syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always been a part of the human condition, exists in all regions across the globe and commonly results in variable effects on learning styles, physical characteristics or health. Adequate access to health care, to early intervention programmes and to inclusive education, as well as appropriate research, are vital to the growth and development of the individual.
Location: International
Mon 21 March
Naw-Ruz (`New Day') is the Bahá'í and Iranian new year. It occurs on the date of the vernal equinox, and symbolises the new life of spring.
Location: International
Mon 21 March
Organisation: United Nations
Despite all of the priceless ecological, economic, social and health benefits, we are destroying the very forests we need to survive. Global deforestation continues at an alarming rate - 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed annually. Deforestation accounts for 12 to 20 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
Location: National
Mon 21 March
Organisation: United Nations
The United Nations describes poetry as another facet of the dialogue among cultures. World Poetry Day is a celebration of the contribution made to society by poetry.
Location: International
Mon 21 March
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Organisation: United Nations
Celebrated on the anniversary of the 1960 shooting of 69 anti-apartheid protestors, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a reminder to continue breaking down all forms of racism and racial discrimination.
Location: International
21-27 March
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Organisation: United Nations
In 1979, the General Assembly adopted a Programme of activities to be undertaken during the second half of the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (A/RES/34/24). On this occasion, the General Assembly decided that a week of solidarity with the peoples struggling against racism and racial discrimination, beginning on 21 March, would be organized annually in all States.
Location: International
21-27 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Playgroup Australia
Playgroups play an important role in providing parent and carer support and in promoting the value of play young children. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful work undertaken all over Australia by dedicated parent and carer volunteers to keep playgroups running.
Website: playgroupaustralia.org.au/
21-28 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: Australian multiple Birth Association
Multiple Birth Awareness Week is a celebration of families raising twins, triplets, and more. The day also aims to raise awareness of the challenges that go hand-in-hand with raising these children.
Location: National
Website: www.amba.org.au/mbaw
21-28 March
Organisation: Victorian Multicultural Commission
Every year in March, we bring Victorians together to celebrate our diversity. Multiculturalism is a core part of the Victorian identity, our character and way of life. As home to people from all corners of the world, Victoria is a place where anyone can contribute and belong. <p>This year's Cultural Diversity Week theme pushes the boundaries and asks: What does multicultural Victoria look like in 2030? Through a hybrid offering of in-person and digital events, we'll invite participants to ask the big questions, spark constructive conversations and envision the future of Victorian multiculturalism.
Website: www.multiculturalcommission.vic.gov.au/cultural-diversity-week-victorian-multicultural-commission
Tue 22 March
Organisation: United Nations
World Water Day is held to focus attention on the need for fresh water, and the importance of the sustainable management of fresh water resources.
Location: International
Website: www.un.org/en/observances/water-day
22-26 March
(date to be confirmed)
National Advance Care Planning Week
Organisation: Advance Care Planning Australia
<p>Advance care planning is invaluable because it ensures your voice is heard if medical decisions have to be made for you. Having a plan means your friends, family and doctors aren't guessing what's important to you or what an acceptable outcome is for your life. <p>Get the conversation started in your community during National Advance Care Planning Week by <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/acpweek/host-an-event/host-an-event">hosting</a> or <a href="https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/acpweek/find-an-event">attending</a> a local event.
Location: National
Wed 23 March
Organisation: United Nations
World Meteorological Day is a commemoration of the day the World Meteorological Organisation was formed in 1950.
Location: International
Website: public.wmo.int/en/resources/world-meteorological-day
Thu 24 March
Organisation: United Nations
The purpose of the Day is to honour the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations and promote the importance of the right to truth and justice.
Location: International
Thu 24 March
Organisation: United Nations
World Tuberculosis Day is designed to build public awareness about the disease which causes the deaths of several million people every year, mostly in developing countries. The day also aims to raise funds to help eliminate tuberculosis as a public health problem.
Location: International
Website: www.stoptb.org/events/world_tb_day/
Fri 25 March
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Organisation: United Nations
Known as Slavery Remembrance day, this is a day to remember the consequences and lessons learned from the transatlantic slave trade.
Location: International
Fri 25 March
International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members
Organisation: United Nations
The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members is marked each year on the anniversary of the abduction of Alec Collett, a former journalist who was working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) when he was abducted by armed gunmen in 1985. His body was finally found in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley in 2009.
Location: International
Fri 25 March
(date to be confirmed)
Organisation: FND Australia
Functional Neurological Disorder [FND] is a poorly understood disabling condition. People with FND have with neurological symptoms such as an inability to walk, paralysis, gait disorder, tremors, abnormal movements, seizures, blindness, an inability to swallow or talk and/or continence issues. In FND, generally the nervous system is structurally intact but functions abnormally, making diagnosis and subsequent access to care and treatment, more challenging.
Location: National
Website: fndaus.org.au
Sat 26 March
Organisation: Epilepsy Australia
Purple Day is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. On March 26th annually, people in countries around the world are invited to wear purple and host events in support of epilepsy awareness.
Location: International
Sat 26 March
Organisation: WWF
Earth Hour is an international sustainability movement, where individuals and businesses are encouraged to turn off all lights for an hour. Earth Hour aims to increase awareness of the impact we have on our world through the use of fossil fuels and electricity.
Location: International
Website: www.earthhour.org/
Sun 27 March
Neighbour Day is Australia's annual celebration of community held on the last Sunday in March every year. Its aim is to encourage closer, friendlier relationships between neighbours and to strengthen communities.
Location: National
Website: www.neighbourday.org/
Wed 30 March
It's easy to forget, to delay, to decide it takes too long to sit down and write down whole sentences of thought in our multi-platform, hyper-distracted culture. But Email Debt Forgiveness day is an awesome motivation to catch up on those emails you've meant to send or are anxiously avoiding.</p> <p>Together, we can all make our inboxes less stressful for another year.
Website: emaildebtforgiveness.me/
01-30 April
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Organisation: National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) originated in the USA in the 1980s as a week-long awareness raising event. SAAM is now an internationally recognised campaign held every April.
Location: International
Website: www.nsvrc.org/saam
01-30 April
Organisation: FODMAP PTY LTD
BS Awareness Month is a nationally and internationally significant month. <p>1 in 7 people suffering IBS type symptoms - 15 times more people require a diet low in FODMAPs than a gluten free diet. There is currently no cure, only multiple IBS management strategies including the low FODMAP diet, Dietitian support, health care team, probiotics and prebiotics, gut hypnotherapy etc.
Website: fodmapfriendly.com/
Phone: +61 3 9845 7155
Address: 1st Floor RINGWOOD VIC 3134
01-30 April
April is Leo Club Awareness Month - an opportunity for Leos and Lions to raise awareness about the importance of engaging young people in the community through the Leo Club Program.
01-30 April
Organisation: Parkinson's Australia
Parkinson's Australia is the national peak body and charity representing more than 80,000 Australians living with Parkinson's. Parkinson' Australia advocates for the Parkinson's community, promotes best practice models of service delivery, works to increase awareness of Parkinson's and provides information and education on Parkinson's symptoms, diagnosis, causes and treatments.
Location: VIC
Website: www.parkinsons.org.au
Phone: 02 6180 2817
Address: Unit 8, 2 Phippes Close DEAKIN ACT 2600
Donate online
01-30 April
Greyhounds are very gentle dogs, but unfortunately the racing industry breeds far too many every year. They are exploited and mistreated by the racing industry which only has use for them while they run profitably. If the greyhound is not profitable it is most likely killed. It is a sad fact that only a fraction of the approximately 20,000 greyhounds bred each year is alive to be re-homed. <br><br> Greyhounds need little exercise and generally spend about 18 hours a day sleeping, making them very suitable for people little in apartments.
Location: International
Website: www.adoptagreyhound.com.au/
