Moira Davidson was recently asked to speak at the Brighton Community Volunteer Awards to reflect on what inspires people to volunteer.

For Moira, the answer starts with her father, who volunteered with the Air Cadet Corps at Claremont High School in the 1960s and later served with the SES. All six of his children went on to volunteer in their own communities. “I find that if there is a need, I will try in some way to help out,” Moira said in her speech.

Seven years ago, new to the Brighton area, Moira was introduced to Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) training – focused on growing local leaders from within a community. Out of that early training came Café Connections, a project a small group of “like minded passionate people” continue to run.

“My husband Peter and I chose to then move into the municipality so that we could authentically say that we want to bring positive change to our community,” Moira said.

The idea for a community Christmas Carols celebration began simply in 2022, singing along to Spotify with a Bluetooth speaker at the Civic Centre while the Food Hub distributed Christmas hampers. By 2024, further ABCD workshops led to the formation of the Brighton Community Christmas Celebration Committee, which established a more formal carols service and, in 2025, expanded to bring back the Christmas Pageant.

Moira said running events like the pageant involves far more decisions than people might expect, and that no single person should carry that load alone.

“The success of any vision really requires a critical mass of people involved, with all sharing the same level of passion for the idea,” she said. “If a vision only has one person driving it, it is not likely to succeed or have longevity.”

The Brighton Community Christmas Celebration Committee meets monthly on the third Wednesday at 9.30am at the Council Chambers, and is looking for more people to get involved. Those interested can contact Sarah Telega at Brighton Council to join by phone or online, or can turn up to a meeting.

“One person joining with more like-minded people can do awesome things,” said Moira.