Partnership Aims To Encourage Ethnic Volunteers

The New Zealand Federation of Ethnic Councils (NZFEC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Zealand Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NZACAB). This new partnership marks the start of the Volunteering in Ethnic Communities Project.

The project seeks to identify the barriers existing in ethnic communities which discourage or stop people from volunteering, through consultation with the NZACAB and ethnic communities in diverse locations around the country. Resulting from this research, best practice guidelines will be developed for voluntary organisations on involving volunteers from ethnic communities, with the aim of building relationships for sustainable volunteering.

An information kit on ethnic peoples’ volunteering will also be developed for ethnic communities and voluntary organisations.

Regional Ethnic Councils will work closely with some of the 87 Citizens Advice Bureaux throughout New Zealand to trial the model for building relationships and encouraging volunteering. If successful, this model could be extended to other voluntary organisations.

© Scoop Media