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Volunteers, This One’s for You!
Volunteers, This One’s for You!
National Volunteer Week 2018 is on this week. It’s a time to recognise and celebrate the 1.2 million Kiwis throughout the country who give their time, skills and goodwill to helping their communities.
Volunteers make a vital contribution to social development, the economy and the environment by donating upwards of 157 million hours to non-profits, annually. This number is down on previous years though, which suggests, now as ever, the importance and benefits of volunteer work – both to the person and the wider community – need to be emphasised.
For this year, the theme: The Heart of our Community – By many, the work will be completed, Mā tini, mā mano, ka rapa te whai targets the essential link between the volunteers and the communities who benefit from their work. In a sense, the volunteers are the heart of the community because without them, our communities would be fractured and unable to complete all of the endeavours and enterprises they wish to.
Scott Miller, Chief Executive of Volunteering NZ says: “Communities big and small, throughout the country rely on the goodwill and passion that Kiwis have for their communities”.
Although statistics show volunteering in New Zealand is experiencing a slump, Heather Moore, the General Manager at Volunteering Waikato disagrees: “In the past few years it has been encouraging to see a significant increase in the number of volunteers finding roles in the community through Volunteering Waikato … Sometimes we hear people saying that volunteering is dying, or declining – that is not our experience. It is definitely changing, but so is everything else.”
Helga Wientjes, Volunteering NZ Chairperson says: “In every community you find volunteers who relentlessly work to make New Zealand a better place – whether it is through setting traps in a local reserve, patrolling the beach through summer or delivering a meal to someone in need … the work they do is the lifeblood of our society”.
For more information on National
Volunteer Week and ways to get involved visit www.nationalvolunteerweek.nz
Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) is an association of
national volunteer-involving organisations that have a
commitment to volunteering. Their mission is to maximise the
impact of volunteering in our communities. www.volunteeringnz.org.nz
[ends]
Volunteering New Zealand
Leaders of Volunteering
Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) is an association of New Zealand organisations that have a commitment to volunteering, such as volunteer centres, national and other organisations.
Volunteering New Zealand's mission is to promote, support and advocate for volunteering.
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