There’s no such thing as a free lunch - unless you are one of the 150 volunteers being treated at a special function to celebrate International Volunteer Day (IVD) next week.

IVD was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985 and is celebrated worldwide to highlight the role of volunteers in their communities Officially IVD falls on Saturday 5 December, however in Nelson a special ‘invitation only’ lunch for volunteers is being held at the Monaco resort the following Monday.

Organiser, Maureen May, says Volunteer Nelson organises an event each year to say ‘thank you’ for the many hours volunteers put in to the community, estimated in Nelson Tasman to be over 100,000 hours every month. Invitations went out to a range of community groups asking them to nominate two or three of their top volunteers to attend the lunch.

“There are some wonderful people that give so much of their time voluntarily - and it’s nice to be able to recognise and thank them for their efforts,” Maureen says. “Volunteers make a huge contribution in almost every type of activity from sports and culture to social services, education, and the environment - their commitment helps build a vibrant community.”

Local businesses have supported the event by providing sponsorship for the set up and gifts for spot prizes. New Zealand's rugby great, Frank Bunce, who is the ambassador for Volunteer Centres in New Zealand, is guest speaker at the lunch.

The volunteers’ lunch is on 11.30am – 2pm at the Monaco Resort, Monday 7 December. Nelson musicians, ‘African Rhythm’ will entertain guests.

ENDS