18.6 C
Byron Shire
November 9, 2026

Be Kind Christmas Appeal launched

Latest News

Green Heroes among 2026 NSW Environment Award winners

The NSW Environment Awards, hosted by the state’s leading environmental advocacy organisation, Nature Conservation Council NSW, was recently held at Customs House in Sydney.

Other News

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Don’t scrape

The arts are an essential industry. We need artists as much as we need accountants. We need dancers as much as we need doctors. We need comedians as much as we need civil engineers. We need filmmakers as much as we need financial planners. We need musicians as much as we need ministers.

Chumps: certain fools

I noticed in a recent edition of The Echo what I regard as the most enduringly relevant of the...

Remembrance Day 2026: 11am, 11 November

It is estimated that in WWl there were 20 million dead and 20 million injured. From a population base...

Role of the Greens

Recent articles and letters in The Echo have provided different perspectives about Australian politics today and the Australian Greens. There...

Council must stand firm on Wallum

As a Bayside resident and Byron Shire ratepayer, I am concerned by suggestions that Council may be preparing to...

Council’s special rates variation

There’s lots of noise about Byron Shire Council’s special rates variation (SRV) proposal, that would be additional to the...

Pictured from left: Denise, Kelly, Phil and Lindy, breakfast volunteers at the Fletcher Street Cottage.
Photo Kate Love

Fletcher Street Cottage, part of the Byron Community Centre, has launched its Be Kind Christmas Appeal 2024 to spread kindness and hope to those in need this holiday season.

Organisers say, ‘This year’s appeal highlights both monetary donations and The Giving Guide – a practical gift wishlist designed to provide direct, tangible support to individuals and families facing homelessness, financial hardship and other challenges’.

Damian Farrell, Manager at Fletcher Street Cottage, says, ‘Christmas is a poignant time for many in our community, especially for those feeling isolated or struggling with significant challenges. Every donation is an act of kindness that enables us to provide essential services – from basic needs to emergency relief – making a real difference during what can be an especially difficult season.’

Fletcher Street Cottage provides critical services to Byron’s most vulnerable, providing wraparound support and a safe space for connection. Community Support Workers offer advocacy and referrals, and 15 specialist services provide medical care, legal aid, counselling, and more. These resources are invaluable over the holiday season, which can be especially tough for those facing hardship and isolation.

To donate kindness and make a difference for Byron locals this holiday season, visit www.fletcherstreetcottage.com.au.



For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling.

If you are a local business owner help us and in turn we help you. All The Echo asks for is advertising, not a free ride. It is every advert in The Echo and on www.echo.net.au, which creates the space for all the stories and coverage of community events, happenings and concerns.

If you are a reader you can become a sponsor of The Echo. Your support keeps the us independent.

Even a small one-off or regular donation from you will help keep the echo’s independent voice alive and strong.

Support Us

Become one of the supporters who helps keep independent, local journalism alive in the Byron Shire by contributing anything from as little as the cost of a coffee each month.

You're Wonderful, Thank you for supporting independent journalism in the Byron Shire

You’re supporting The Echo, thank you

Your contribution is keeping independent, local journalism alive in the Northern Rivers.

Because of supporters like you, we can keep every story free for everyone — no paywall, no exceptions. Your money goes directly to funding our newsroom of 40-odd local workers covering the stories that matter to this community.

Tell us what you think, give us your opinion

The Echo loves your letters and comments and is proud to provide a community forum on the issues that matter most to our readers and the people of the NSW north coast. So don’t be a passive reader, email us your epistles at editor@echo.net.au.

The letters deadline for The Echo is noon Friday. Letters longer than 200 words may be cut. The publication of letters is at the discretion of the letters editor. Please remember to include your full name, address and telephone number.

Online comments are no longer available.

Remembrance Day 2026: 11am, 11 November

It is estimated that in WWl there were 20 million dead and 20 million injured. From a population base of fewer than five million,...

Love books? Join Friends of the Library

Friends of the Libraries, Byron Shire are looking for some fresh, new, younger faces to join the group and help keep it moving forward.

Racehorses shot for pet food by NSW breeder

Thirteen thoroughbred horses deemed no longer useful, have been destroyed with eight horses destroyed by firearm at Berkeley Park Stud.

Byron Bay Surf Lifesaving Club youngsters shine

Two young members of Byron Bay Surf Lifesaving Club have delivered outstanding performances at the Paddle NSW State Sprint Championships, held at the Penrith International Regatta Centre over the weekend.