15 March 2006

Staged Strike Call for One Million Volunteers

What if all New Zealanders volunteers went on strike? That is the question being raised by a community and volunteer sector staged strike for 15 March.

Who would look after the kids at Playcentre? Would you knock off early to replace the school sports coaches? Leave your grandparents to go hungry if there were no Meals on Wheels deliveries?

What if you needed a St John’s Ambulance worker? What if all the volunteer firefighters in New Zealand called it quits for 24 hours? What if lives were lost because volunteers weren’t there?

The staged strike will occur as part of Volunteer Awareness Week (12 – 16 March), a national celebration of the excellent, but often undervalued, work that New Zealand volunteers do.

“Volunteers form the backbone of many communities by delivering vital services across a huge range of sectors. Every New Zealander is touched by volunteer services,” says Tony Spelman, Co Chair of the Community Sector Taskforce.

“The value of New Zealand volunteers is often grossly underestimated and COmVOiceS is calling on all New Zealanders to take time during Volunteer Awareness Week to recognise their contribution to society,” says Dave Henderson, the coordinator of the Association of Non Governmental Organisations of Aotearoa.

ENDS

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