What's your story? Making 2026 a year of volunteer storytelling

It’s International Volunteer Year, and one of the ways to mark that is to tell impactful volunteer stories. We encourage you to make 2026 a year of storytelling!

We are making it easy with:

·       Social media tiles “What’s your story?” Get Canva template

·       A tag: #IVY26stories

·       A form template in Microsoft Forms (adjust as you like).
Note: requires users to sign in to Microsoft

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Celebrate volunteering: Your stories show the power and diversity of volunteering across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Why participate: Help us showcase the impact of volunteers during International Volunteer Year. Boost support for your community organisation. Read our blog: Why Storytelling is a Powerful Way to Recognise and Celebrate Volunteers

How to get involved: Collect, share, and submit your best volunteer stories. Here's a great article on Collecting Volunteer Impact Stories.

You can send us your completed stories on this form 

Volunteering New Zealand will share some of the stories each month. We’ll select some of the most impactful stories of volunteers to attend a special event later in the year.

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2026 Sample questions/ template

Use these questions to build your own form:

1.      What is your name

2.      What is your email address?      

3.      Which organisation(s) do you volunteer for?

4.      What inspired you to start volunteering?

5.      Describe your volunteering journey

6.      What do you gain from volunteering?

7.      Are there any challenges or barriers to volunteering, and what could help overcome them?

8.      Is there anything else you’d like to add to your volunteering story?

9.      Please consent for your story to be used by us on our channels (Y/ N)

10.  Upload photos or video

11.  Social media handles (Optional)

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