Latest news with #NationalVolunteerWeek
Scoop
27-06-2025
- General
- Scoop
Shining Stars Of Volunteering Recognised In The Western Bay
Volunteers who go above and beyond for their communities were celebrated at the Volunteer Star Awards by Volunteering Services. The event was held during the Tauranga Big Shout Out Morning Tea at The Kollective on June 18th, as part of National Volunteer Week. The awards recognised individuals from across the Western Bay of Plenty for their exceptional commitment and generosity. As part of the opening, the attendees were welcomed by Councillor Marten Rozeboom. 'I tip my hat to anyone who's prepared to give up a portion of their life to make someone else's life better', Rozeboom shared. Spanning six diverse categories, this year's Volunteer Star Award winners reflect the depth of volunteerism in our region. From environmental action to youth support, neighbourhood care to lifetime dedication, each recipient showcases the powerful impact of giving time for the good of others. 2025 Volunteer Star Award Winners Rising Star – Youth Volunteer: Hannah Secker A talented baker and long-time supporter of Under the Stars, Hannah began helping as a child with her family and now creates weekly homemade desserts for those experiencing homelessness. Her creativity, reliability and warmth are a gift to all. New Light – Newcomer Volunteer: Emily-Kay Livick Emily recently stepped into the role of Achilles Tauranga chapter leader, advocating for disabled children and young people who often miss out on long-distance running events. Her calm leadership and fresh energy are helping create a more inclusive local running community. Local Star – Neighbourhood Champion: Fareena Ali Fareena has volunteered for over a decade with Papamoa Food Hub and its predecessor. Tireless, cheerful, and deeply committed, she supports food relief efforts and is beloved by her fellow volunteers. Green Star – Environmental Volunteer: Jacquie Ashton Jacquie leads the Pest Free Ōmokoroa group, securing funding, growing volunteer networks, and building relationships with mana whenua. Her impact is visible across the peninsula — a true conservation leader working with heart. Guiding Light – Lifetime Volunteer: Shona Graham Celebrating 30 years with Katikati Community Centre, Shona has supported events, after-school care, holiday programmes and much more. Known for her positivity and generosity, she's considered a cornerstone of her community. Shining Star – Volunteer of the Year: Jasper Osborne Through Stoney Creek's Hunt for Good, Jasper donates wild game to community groups including Kura Kai. He balances full-time work with running the not-for-profit and weekend hunts — all to provide nutritious food for local whānau. With over 60 nominations put forward, Volunteering Services Manager, Angela Wallace shares 'Our judges had their work cut out for them with an overwhelming number of nominations and such incredible mahi happening in our region'. Volunteering Services thanks all nominators and community groups who participated — and everyone who makes time to care for others. Special mention also goes to NumberWorks'nWords Tauranga, Neighbourhood Support WBOP, Envirohub BOP, FreshChoice Papamoa, Leanne Brown - Harcourts Pāpāmoa, Tauranga City Council Welcoming Communities, The Coffee Club NZ for their generosity in sponsoring this year's prizes. For more information or to connect with local volunteering opportunities, please reach out on or call (07) 987-0920.
Otago Daily Times
19-06-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
‘Every little thing you do helps'
Otago Student Army volunteers clean flood debris from fencing on a farm near Owaka in October last year. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED Clutha has plenty to celebrate during this year's National Volunteer Week, which runs until Saturday. Non-profit group Clutha Development (CD) assists the district council and the community in recognising the generosity of volunteers, and the district's dependence on them. "Through the Clutha District Volunteer Network, Clutha Development is helping build stronger, more connected communities," CD community projects facilitator Kristin Aarts said. "We recognised a need, and set out to get to learn more about community groups and how to help them reach out to people to volunteer, and how to put those people in touch with the kind of group they want to work with. "This National Volunteer Week, we're celebrating the locals who make a difference by stepping up, lending a hand, and helping our district thrive." Among the region's notable volunteers are the network behind Clutha Budget Advisory Service and individuals including Allister Body and Robbie Finlayson, both of Tapanui. Robbie Finlayson has volunteered for Kidzway from the beginning. Allister Body has been on the board of West Otago Health for 15 years. Mr Body has been an integral part of the West Otago Health medical centre since 2010. "After 15 years, volunteering isn't something I consciously choose any more — it's simply part of how we live," he said. "I could spend my time elsewhere [but] in our community, the clubs, events, and opportunities that enrich our lives are built and maintained by volunteers. "So for me, giving my time to West Otago Health feels like doing my part to keep that spirit alive. "It's about contributing to the kind of community I want my family to grow up in — one where people show up for each other." Robbie Finlayson has volunteered countless hours of expertise to Kidzway Early Learning Centre since it opened in 2008. "[It's been] a great way to get to know a wide range of people, many of whom have become lifelong friends. I have certainly learnt a lot of new skills along the way, but best of all it's knowing every little thing you do helps someone else." The network also has the reach to source volunteers from beyond Clutha, such as Otago Student Army, who marched out in force to help clear flood debris in the Catlins late last year. Clutha District Council held the annual community service awards at Te Pou Ō Mata-Au, Clutha District War Memorial and Community Centre in Balclutha last night to encourage the spirit of community generosity by highlighting and rewarding some of the area's most dedicated volunteers.
Scoop
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Te Aroha Softball Club Receives Matariki Award
Thursday, 19 June 2025, 12:37 pm Press Release: New Zealand Amateur Sport Association 19 June 2025 The New Zealand Amateur Sport Association Inc. is pleased to announce that the 2025 Te Tohu Tiketike o Matariki award has been made to the Te Aroha Softball Club, Waiwhetū, Hutt City. The award was announced today by Association Patron, Andy Leslie, ONZM who convened the award selection panel. The award, decided in collaboration with Te Upoko o te Ika, Aotearoa's first te reo Māori radio station, acknowledges a community sport organisation which has embraced te reo Māori as part of its kaupapa. The award also acknowledges National Volunteer Week (Te Wiki Tūao ā-Motu), with the recipient reliant on volunteers to deliver sport to its local community. Andy Leslie (a member of the New Zealand Softball Team at the World Championships in Mexico City in 1966) said that 'softball as a sport is a wonderful way for communities to come together, in an inclusive, fun environment. The Te Aroha Softball Club has extended that environment to integrate te ao Māori into the game, acknowledging the whakapapa of the local area and its sporting community.' Association Chairman Gordon Noble-Campbell said that 'as a club with a history that goes back over 80 years, Te Aroha Softball Club's strength and longevity can be traced back (along with many other Te Aroha sporting codes and affiliates), to Te Aroha Hutt Valley Māori Association, which originally focused on bringing together Māori who had moved to the Wellington region.' Through the values of whanaungatanga and kaitiakitanga, (which are the foundation of Arohanui ki te Tangata) and the building of Waiwhetū Marae, many sporting codes became affiliated to Te Aroha Hutt Valley Māori Association. Today, the Association continues to be active in supporting Te Aroha Softball Club, and it's junior and senior teams which have achieved success at local, national and international levels. Adrian Tangaroa Wagner, General Manager of Te Upoko o te Ika said that 'community sport is an important way for te reo Māori to become more familiar to a larger number of people, with this year's award again acknowledging how this can become an integral part of our overall approach to building healthy communities through sport'. Previous awards have been made to: in 2022, the Otaki Surf Lifesaving Club Inc. (Horowhenua Kapiti), in 2023, the YMP Hockey Club (Poverty Bay), and in 2024, the Papuni Otautahi Boxing Trust, (Canterbury). © Scoop Media
Scoop
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Long-Time Volunteer Honoured For Raising Millions For Special Olympics
Laurinne Laing has taken the phrase volunteer to a whole new level. Laing has been the driving force behind the Special Olympics Howick-Pakuranga club and the Upper North Island Trust and in the process has fundraised millions of dollars for athletes with an intellectual disability. This week is National Volunteer Week and like many others Laing just wanted to lend a helping hand, but ended up putting her heart and soul into Special Olympics for over 35 years, often dedicating more than 30 hours a week to the organisation. Earlier this month, Laing was recognised in the King's Birthday honours for her incredible contribution to Special Olympics. 'I got involved through my brother Glen who has an intellectual disability and we wanted to encourage him to get him involved in sport, and I also wanted to take a bit of a load off my mother,' says Laing. She remembers how Glen was one of the Special Olympics pioneers and competed at the first National Summer Games in Hutt Valley in 1989. 'Glen competed in every National Summer Games until 2009 in Palmerston North,' says Laing, who joined the committee and also put her hand up to coach the ten-pin bowling team. 'And I had never played the sport,' laughs Laing, who acted as club secretary for a decade before she agreed to be acting chairperson for a few months in 2007, only to find herself in the role for the next 18 years. Since then, Laing has helped prepare the Howick-Pakuranga team for each National Summer Games and regularly acted as Head of Delegation. The former school teacher and director of a software development company turned out to have a special talent for finding money with funding agencies, gaming trusts and corporate sponsors to get teams to the National Summer Games, send a regional team to the annual Snow Camp in Wanaka and for the other regional costs of the 13 clubs in the Upper North Island Trust. 'The snow camp alone would cost us about $50-60,000 each year, and closer to $80,000 in a National Winter Games year, and this year we need to raise $87,000 to get athletes to the National Summer Games,' says Laing. She is reluctant to guess how much money she and her colleagues raised over the past 35 years, but a quick calculation produces some staggering numbers that run well into seven figures. 'I never looked at it like that, but yes, it does start adding up when you look back over the years,' says Laing. She explains that the key to good fundraising is building relationships with the funding agencies, with local councils and sponsors, like Freemasons New Zealand so they keep supporting the athletes. 'But there is a lot of paperwork involved, and you need to make sure you apply for the right items, with the right agencies and for the right amount. And of course then there is a lot of audit work afterwards reconciling where the money was spent, so you have to be organised. 'After a while you know what they want to see and they know that they can trust you with their money, so it's all about cultivating those relationships.' This week is National Volunteer Week and Laing encourages more people to put their hands up to give their time to help others, and not waste the opportunity to help out at the National Summer Games in Christchurch on December 10-14 which will need 700 volunteers to run the event. 'Give it a go. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but more often than not it's just such a wonderful rewarding thing to do. You can make such an impact on people's lives and give them the chance to feel good, and do what their brothers and sisters can do at sports,' says Laing who adds that volunteers help athletes gain a sense of well-being and confidence to be out in the community and interact with other people. Laing says that she retired almost 20 years ago, so had the space in her week to dedicate so much time to Special Olympics, but is slowly looking to step back. 'Maybe I'm a bit of a control freak, but I find it hard to hand over jobs when I know those people are all busy and have full-time jobs. It's not always easy for me after putting blood, sweat and tears into these jobs for so many years, but it's time to hand over the reins.' Laing says the National Summer Games in Christchurch will be the first event in decades where she will not be Head of Delegation. 'The person who is taking over is really excellent and she will do really well. I will be in Christchurch, floating around the team, but only as a fan.'
Otago Daily Times
18-06-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Volunteer urges others to give it a go
To celebrate National Volunteer Week, The Star highlights one of Dunedin's unsung heroes — Otago Community Hospice and Christmas can collection stalwart Aimee Taylor. Brenda Harwood reports. In typical fashion, stalwart Dunedin volunteer Aimee Taylor was a little reluctant to step into the limelight and be celebrated for her efforts. But the chance to highlight the immense benefits of volunteering for individuals and organisations alike, and to encourage others to become volunteers, convinced her that it was worth it. Alongside her busy role as a career firefighter, based at the Dunedin Central Fire Station, Ms Taylor is also a stalwart volunteer — doing regular shifts in the Otago Community Hospice kitchen and stepping up to organise the annual Combined Dunedin Foodbanks Christmas Can Collection. Ms Taylor started volunteering at the hospice several years ago, after witnessing the excellent supportive care given to family members and friends and deciding to give back. "Because I do shift work as a firefighter, I am able to slot into kitchen shifts around what is needed, including lunch service and dinner service," she said. Working alongside hospice head chef Rose Tamplin, Ms Taylor helps to create tempting individual meals for in-patients, as well as catering for community support groups, training sessions and meetings. "It's great to be involved in helping to care for patients at the hospice, as well as providing for some of the many other people who provide and receive support there," she said. Otago Community Hospice has about 400 volunteers, who tackle a broad range of important tasks that help keep the facility running, including reception, cleaning, kitchen work, gardening and working in the hospice shops. "There is a constant rotation of people coming through to do those vital volunteer jobs, it's quite amazing," Ms Taylor said. However, more volunteers were always needed at the hospice, and she urged anyone interested to give it a go. "It is a very satisfying thing to do, and the hospice is great at looking after and celebrating their volunteers." As a firefighter, Ms Taylor had been involved in the Christmas can collection, which is supported by local emergency services, for a few years before stepping up to become organiser of the event. "It is such an important support for our local major foodbanks, so I wanted to do all I could to help. "And having formerly worked as an event organiser, it is something I enjoy doing and have the skills for," she said. The Christmas can collection helps to fill up the shelves at Dunedin's Presbyterian Support Otago Family Works foodbank, the Salvation Army foodbank and the St Vincent de Paul foodbank at what is a difficult time of year for many families. "Last Christmas, we had more than 200 volunteers for the collection, including drivers of appliances and collection vehicles, runners and packers. "It was so much fun, and a really rewarding thing to do — the community really supports it generously." Describing volunteering as her "happy place", Ms Taylor urged others to give it a go. "It's a great feeling to be involved in something like that."
