Student Volunteer Week 1st– 7th May

Mount Aspiring College Students in the Community Programme celebrates Student Volunteer Week 1st– 7th May

To celebrate Student Volunteer Week, the Mount Aspiring College Students in the Community Programme has made one video a day to showcase the volunteering that Mount Aspiring College students do around the Upper Clutha. From football coaching to ‘Girls Club’ and apple chopping to kapahaka, it’s a wide range of altruism out there.

“There are many more stories than the ones we had time to showcase here,” said co-ordinator Liz Breslin. “I love it how this programme is a win-win-win, for the students, the community and the school.”

All Year 13 students at Mount Aspiring College have to undertake a programme of ‘mandatory volunteering,’ including a placement, where they spend ten weeks or more creating community connections, and a one-off project, often an event in town. Recent events that SIC students have volunteered for are the Contact Epic, the Festival of Colour and the upcoming YAMI Sounz Summit.

The videos will be put up on the Mount Aspiring College Students in the Community Facebook page every day during Student Volunteer Week.

The Mount Aspiring College Student in the Community Programme is in its 22nd year, and has resulted in upwards of 60 000 student volunteer hours over this time. The idea for Students in the Community came from Mike Allison, former MAC principal, on his return from a Woolf Fisher Scholarship tour of the USA, Canada and Britain. He wanted to integrate a programme that demanded not just academic, sporting and cultural excellence, but a more holistic sense of altruism. Current Principal Wayne Bosley is also a firm supporter of the programme and will be appearing in one of the videos, as will co-ordinator Liz Breslin, though the focus is mostly on student voices and stories.

Student Volunteer Week is a national initiative through Volunteering New Zealand. Further information fromwww.studentvolunteerweek.nz. For more information about the Mount Aspiring College Students in the Community Programme, email breslinl@mtaspiring.school.nz or call Liz on 027 622 5075.

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