Jason Rigon, a Filipino migrant and President of Club Filipino Tauranga Inc., is making significant strides in helping newcomers acclimatise to their new home in New Zealand. Volunteering makes the Tauranga migrant feel at home. Rigon (photographed with his family), who moved to Tauranga with his wife Joy and their three sons in 2017, has Read more
When Patsy Caskey says volunteering is a rewarding thing to do, she is speaking from experience. More than six decades of it, in fact, as Patsy has spent the past 60-plus years giving her time and skills freely to a wide range of organisations. One of this year’s three Stratford District Citizen Award recipients, Patsy Read more
Community and charity groups are dealing with plummeting rates of volunteering, and Charities Minister Andrew Leigh is on a mission not only to stem the drop-off but halt the crisis in community participation. Reports compiled by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) show the number of volunteers has been steadily falling each year. It Read more
Everyone deserves access to basic hygiene. With 41,600 Kiwis not knowing where they will sleep tonight, and many not having access to a shower or laundry services demand for Orange Sky services has doubled. And, it needs more volunteers. Orange Sky, offers a mobile laundry and hot shower service working on the streets and in Read more
Volunteering is a growing trend in New Zealand, with opportunities to suit everyone – from teen volunteers to retirees. Volunteer centres throughout the country report a 10 to 25 per cent increases in volunteers, says Leisa de Klerk, who manages Dunedin and Waitaki for Volunteer South, a charitable trust that connects volunteers with volunteering opportunities. Read more
Meghan Markle volunteered with a group at a soup kitchen on Skid Row in Los Angeles when she was 13. Markle, who is Prince Harry’s fiancee, says on the first day she “felt really scared. “I was young, and it was rough and raw down there, and though I was with a great volunteer group, Read more