Thousands of volunteers needed

Media Release
Thousands of volunteers needed

Wanted – thousands of volunteers to help our children get the best possible education.

It is a tall order, but when nominations for the Trustee Elections open across the country today (Friday, March 5) more than 13,000 people are expected to put their hand up.

The Trustee Elections are New Zealand’s largest democratic event, involving 2,580 schools. As Elections Project Manager Janet Kelly says, it puts volunteering into a new league.

“Every three years the community steps up and people volunteer their time and effort for the benefit of their local schools and students. It is an amazing and humbling experience.”

She is urging all those who have thought about putting their names forward to seize the chance during the nominations period, which runs from March 5 –19.

“Everyone has something to offer their local school and the most important attribute prospective trustees can have is that they care about children’s education.

“This is a chance for all members of the community to have real input into the direction of schools.”

Janet Kelly says each school has its own unique qualities and for schools to continue to run smoothly, pro-active trustees are needed to take up the challenge.

“The Trustee Elections campaign has been extremely successful so far and the support and interest from communities has been wonderful. After all the hard work put in by so many different people in so many different ways, it would be disappointing if potential trustees didn’t follow through with their earlier enthusiasm.”

Regional Election Co-ordinators, who ensure school communities take their chance to vote and have sufficient candidates to elect a board of trustees, have also reported a surge in interest among their communities.

They say schools are actively recruiting people to stand for the Trustee Elections and have really stepped forward and involved the community.

The opening of nominations will be marked with a television and radio advertising campaign. The radio ads feature Tawa’s Musical Island Boys, an award-winning high school barbershop quartet, who will hit the airwaves with the Trustee Elections jingle “Stand Up!”

Key dates: Nominations open: March 5.
Nominations close: March 19.
Polls close: April 2.

[ends]

© Scoop Media