Volunteer Awareness Week 2009
Thursday, 10 June 2009
This year Volunteer Awareness Week (VAW) will be celebrated from 14th to 20st June.
Volunteering by youth will be highlighted in Volunteer Awareness Week which is to be held 14 – 20 June this year. Young people are potential volunteers for today and into the future and encouraging them to become volunteers is a major strategic aim of Volunteering New Zealand.
VNZ encourages participation in the Week by all organisations and services who involve volunteers in their programmes and activities. It is an opportunity to celebrate and recognise your volunteers. At the same time you can showcase how you involve volunteers and ways in which new volunteers can contribute.
The national focus for the week through events and media releases will be on the many ways in which young people already volunteer, demonstrating the opportunities for other young people. "Generosity in a Time of Recession" will be the theme of a Communities of Interest meeting being hosted by the Generosity Hub in Wellington on Friday 19 June. As a major national event for Volunteer Awareness Week, it will report on the Hub's work to grow the level of giving in all its forms - giving time (volunteering), money, in kind and random acts of kindness.
Those invited include those who participated in the meeting in November 2007 which agreed to the Promoting Generosity initative and those who have since expressed interest in the Hub's work. The Hon Minister Tariana Turia will be the guest speaker. Inspirational stories of generosity will be told reflecting this time when all sectors are being hit hard by the current economic downturn. Members of the Hub will talk about the personal impact promoting generosity has had on them and present what they have done to date and their plans to for the Hub's work in 2009/2010.
The Hub’s overall objective is to encourage all New Zealanders to be increasingly generous with their time (volunteering) and their money and other resources. VNZ encourages participation by all organisations and services who involve volunteers in their programmes and activities. It is an opportunity to celebrate and recognise your volunteers. At the same time you can showcase how you involve volunteers and ways in which new volunteers can contribute.
Similarly to the previous years we have developed a blog which will serve as a collection of different events happening in NZ during the Week. Everyone who is planning an event is welcome to post it on blog and will automatically enter the draw to win a $50 book voucher. Each post counts as one entry. This blog will be promoted across the media, which is one more reason to have your event announced on blog. More information on how to publish your event and win is available on the blog itself. Check it out at Volunteer Awareness Week 2009 Blog. You may also e-mail us at comms@volunteeringnz.org.nz.
If you have any queries about the previous or the following VAW, please contact Tim Burns at Volunteering New Zealand, email: ed@volunteeringnz.org.nz.
The Week related media releases are available from here.
There are also new VAW 2009 posters (A4 and A3 format) and generic balloons to help you promote and celebrate your events during the Week. They are available free of charge and will be delivered to you for free, as well. All you have to do is to get in touch with Glennis at 04 384 3636 or office@volunteeringnz.org.nz specifying the amount of the posters and balloons you would like to receive and your full mailing address.
There is a new revised VAW Toolkit available free for download . It provides ideas for event, how to contact media and prepare media releases, a template for recognition certificates, etc. We have just added a Youth Fact sheet to our Toolkit in order to help you with the special theme for the Week.
Youth fact sheet
Using your VAW toolkit
VAW 2009 Poster
Generic Poster
Preview Balloon Artwork
VAW Letter head
Certificate
Facts & figures on volunteering in New Zealand
Ideas for promoting volunteering
Media statement template
Using the media to promote volunteering
Ideas for increasing volunteer participation