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Changing the odds for people who have been dealt a bad hand in life — that’s why Rita volunteers her time at Servants Health Centre.Dunedin’s Servants Health Centre provides free healthcare to people who would otherwise struggle to afford medical treatment.

It was founded in 2010 by two doctors and a midwife, who recognised the need for the service in the city and were inspired by their Christian faith to help others.Rita is one of the volunteers at the centre, and she says she gets a real sense of fulfilment from her work.“I came to Servants because of a desire to contribute,” she explains. “So many people have been dealt a ‘bad hand’: sexual abuse, physical abuse, abandonment, non-acceptance.

We’re all a bit broken but if we can deal a ‘good hand’ to people, then we can help bring about positive change.”One of her favourite parts of the role is seeing the positive changes in people.“I see patients feeling safe and it’s beautiful.

Everyone is welcomed here and we don’t judge.

I love to see that every patient gets a welcoming face and that they are known and have a sense of belonging, because in life they are not always welcomed.”While Rita first got involved to give to others, she has also gained a lot from her volunteer experience.“I would tell any nurse who wants to volunteer at Servants that you will learn much more than what you will give.

What I’ve learned here with regards to true general healthcare is phenomenal.”RitaServants Health Centre

Interactive Volunteer Stories Map Launched

For NVW, Volunteering New Zealand has launched an interactive map of volunteer stories from across Aotearoa.

This map is filled with stories from volunteers throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand.

This map celebrates the contribution of volunteers in their communities throughout Aotearoa.

It aims to inspire people to engage in volunteering, Mahi Aroha and social action and to realise the benefits of weaving their communities together through their actions.

Whiria te tangata/weaving the people together – the theme of Volunteer Week 2019 — perfectly describes the strength underlying lifeguard Peter Boyd’s work building a new surf lifesaving club for his isolated East Coast community, founded on kaupapa from Ngati Porou and Surf Life Saving New Zealand.Peter is the founder and club coordinator of the country’s newest surf lifesaving club, the Ngati Porou SLSC, which patrols the remote Onepoto Beach in Hicks Bay, the northernmost beach on the East Coast.Peter became a volunteer lifeguard at Wainui SLSC in Gisborne, and loved it.“My family were surfers and were always in the ocean, so I was asked to be a lifeguard when I was 17 in 1984,” he says.In his 26 years with Wainui SLSC, he carried out regular patrols, became part of its governance committee, and represented the club in surf lifesaving sports.He also took part in the nationwide resurgence in waka ama, and realised his East Coast community needed lifeguard services to keep them safe doing waka ama, collecting kai moana, fishing and swimming.“I could see in Surf Life Saving NZ the water safety message and the skills we needed in our community were already there.”Now, the club’s members patrol during summer, and train year-round in water safety, rescue techniques, first aid, leadership and teamwork, as well as running a Nippers programme for children.The club provides opportunities for young people to gain leadership experience and valuable skills.

They have also formed a partnership with the local kura kaupapa, whose teachers are becoming lifeguards and teach lifeguard skills through the club as part of the school curriculum.“One of the ancestors Ngati Porou came from is Paikea, the whale rider, he was an expert in the sea and he had to make sure he was safe in the sea.

You could say he was the original East Coast lifeguard.”The decision to call the club Ngati Porou Surf Life Saving Club, rather than Onepoto SLSC, as is convention, was an important one.“The reason for calling it Ngati Porou Surf Life Saving was it wasn’t a name isolating us to Onepoto Beach, rather it opened us up to within the whole Ngati Porou area.

It was a cultural and strategic move.“The club is open to everyone, and serves everyone, and this opens the door to those descended from Ngati Porou.”The club has been founded from the beginning with the intention to come towards surf lifesaving from a cultural perspective, he says.“It’s taken a little while for the idea of lifeguarding to catch on in our iwi – because the idea is seen as a mainstream Pakeha thing.“But I say it is  us.

Because of our ocean culture.

We’re not just people of the land, we’re people of the sea, and respect for the sea and lifeguarding and safety are who we are.“It’s culturally more inviting - we can draw down on our cultural connections for Ngati Porou.

We have a thousand year history with the ocean.”Peter says the surf lifesaving movement’s mission to serve the community melds strongly with traditional Māori ideas about serving the community.“We have a saying – we say ‘we have the whānau, hapu, iwi – it’s always about the collective’.“We’ve qualified 18 new guards this season.

And I’m seeing our young people that we trained win awards and grow, and seeing people enjoying the ocean as a way of life.”Ngati Porou SLSC now has over 25 members, aged from 14 to 66, and helps patrol nearly 200 kilometres of East Coast/Tairawhiti coastline, working closely with neighbouring clubs in the district, Gisborne and Tolaga Bay.During summer there is an influx of visitors to the beaches, who swim, surf and enjoy boating, but often aren’t familiar with local conditions – a big challenge for a small surf lifesaving club.Last summer Peter and his nephews pulled four festival-goers out of a rip, and a nephew used a surfboard to rescue another who was drowning.Peter is heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the club, and carrying out patrols.

Right now he is gearing up for the winter training season, including an IRB (inflatable rescue boat) training camp for the district, that the club is able to participate in thanks to the donation of a new IRB from BP in April.“It feels great to know the skills you have, have been able to save people’s lives.

You feel proud,” Peter says. “It’s a wonderful thing, knowing that those skills are going into the community.”Peter BoydinNgati Porou Surf Life Saving Club

Interactive Volunteer Stories Map

This story was shared as part of our interactive map of volunteer stories from across Aotearoa, which we launched during #NVW2019.

This map is filled with stories from volunteers throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand.

This map celebrates the contribution of volunteers in their communities throughout Aotearoa.

It aims to inspire people to engage in volunteering, Mahi Aroha and social action and to realise the benefits of weaving their communities together through their actions.

When I first arrived at Victoria University of Wellington from India, I didn’t know anyone.

As an international student, I was on the lookout for a community to join that I was both passionate about and could help me meet new people.

I started to look at volunteer roles through the Victoria Plus Programme as a way to connect and make friends.The IHC one-to-one friendship programme seemed like the perfect fit for me.

I knew that I would be paired with someone who needed a friend and I needed a friend as much as they did.

I was able to support my buddy with everyday tasks and have lots of fun.

One day, my buddy wanted to make Nankhatai (an Indian biscuit) but the problem was I had never made it before!

We tried it together and everyone in the centre loved it.Another volunteer opportunity that caught my eye was the Fruit and Vegetable Co-operative at Victoria University of Wellington.

The Co-operative distributes fresh and affordable produce across the University’s campuses each week, contributing to a healthy food environment for staff and students.

The Co-operative could not function without the support of its volunteers, who help collect, pack and distribute orders.

Volunteering is not a job that you have to do.

It’s something that you are so passionate about that you want to do it.

I joined the Fruit and Vegetable Co-operative as a volunteer because I understand the important role accessible fresh fruit and vegetables play in health and wellbeing.

Put simply, I believe in what the Co-operative stands for.My first volunteer role was as a packer.

Fruit and vegetable orders are packed up for collection every week - we unload the produce from the delivery trucks, set up the tables, and pack all of the orders ready for collection by our members.

The pack out reminds me of a movie in which Santa’s elves in the North Pole worked together to pack Christmas gifts for children.

There’s a real sense of excitement as we work together as a team, enjoying ourselves throughout the process.

We play music, we chat, we are one big diverse community.After some time as a packer, I became the Pack-out Coordinator and then later moved on to do the accounts, which complemented my studies in Accounting.My other volunteer roles included being a Buddy for International students and a Residential Assistant at the University’s Willis Street Hall.

In these roles, I was able to share my own experiences with other international students new to New Zealand.

I also volunteered for Trade Aid because, being from India myself, I have seen the problems that small-scale artisans face when it comes to selling their produce and I really wanted to be able to support them in any way possible.My volunteering helped me achieve the Victoria Plus Award alongside my Master of Professional Accounting.

This was great recognition for doing something I enjoy.

Ankita ParmarVictoria Plus Programme

Interactive Volunteer Stories Map

This story was shared as part of our interactive map of volunteer stories from across Aotearoa, which we launched during #NVW2019.

This map is filled with stories from volunteers throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand.

This map celebrates the contribution of volunteers in their communities throughout Aotearoa.

It aims to inspire people to engage in volunteering, Mahi Aroha and social action and to realise the benefits of weaving their communities together through their actions.

Andrew Pang has been volunteering at Youthline Wellington since December 2016.

Already working as a counsellor as his day job, his Youthline role has enabled him to further his passion for working with young people.As well as phone counselling, he has helped out with peer supervision and represented Youthline at events and fundraising.

He values the support, learning, and connection he gets from the peer supervision group, and says the volunteers of Youthline are generally a bunch of caring and wonderful people.Does he feel like he is making a difference in young people’s lives with his Youthline work?

“Yes!

So many calls, texts, and emails.

The most obvious ones are when someone is at risk and you provide essential support for them to get through a tough time.

Less obvious ones are when you help someone reflect on their situation so that at some point when they feel able to, they can make a proactive decision to make a positive change in their life.”Andrew enjoys working at Youthline and encourages others to join in volunteering.“Youthline has been a very rewarding experience and I’ve met so many amazing empathetic people through it.”Andrew PangYouthline Wellington

Interactive Volunteer Stories Map Launched

For NVW, Volunteering New Zealand has launched an interactive map of volunteer stories from across Aotearoa.

This map is filled with stories from volunteers throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand.

This map celebrates the contribution of volunteers in their communities throughout Aotearoa.

It aims to inspire people to engage in volunteering, Mahi Aroha and social action and to realise the benefits of weaving their communities together through their actions.

Ki a Maatau Kaumatua aroha Kua Pahure nei, Ka Mahara matou ki a koutou ake ake — To our beloved kaumatua who have passed on, we will remember you all ake ake.“Arm in arm, we are knitted together.”Those are the words of the Te Puna Waiora Ukulele Group – a rōpū of kaumatua who have come together to spread joy; to sing, to play the ukulele and to just have fun!

It started at Tauira Tautoko Student Support Centre at the Southern Institute of Technology in 2012.

Tauira Tautoko Kaimahi Marcia Te Au-Thomson, on behalf of Nga Kete Matauranga Pounamu CEO Tracey Wright-Tawha, had a korero with the late whaea Nan Ngatai, who was interested in a bit of awhi at the centre.

Nan was intent on bringing waiata and joy with her and from the moment she arrived she would jam away on her ukulele with her friend Whaea Isabel.Whaea Wini, who was teaching raranga at both Te Wānanga o Aotearoa and Southland Institute of Technology, heard the pair playing through the (clearly very thin) walls and told Aunty Billie.

Before long a large group was beginning to form at Tauira Tautoko each week.

They now sing and play and have a great time together, and generally enjoy a cup of tea while they’re at it.

There are no rules!“We just love to sing and be together.

We’re like one big family and this is the home where we can all gather,” one member says.At one stage there were 21 members - the youngest was 57 and the oldest was 92.

Everyone had ukuleles and they were rocking the house!People are always hearing about the group from others and with no criteria to join, new members are often showing up for a sing-along.The group meet and perform at Tauira Tautoko every Wednesday around lunch time, but they also enjoy entertaining the public at rest homes and community events such as festivals and the Bluff Triathlon.

The group has even braved some wet, wintry days with rugs draped over their legs while performing on the streets in Windsor at market days.They say the ukulele is easy to play – there are tons of songs with just four notes.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a top notch singer or a seasoned ukulele player – the group holds no bias.

It’s more about the music, the comradery, the company of others and just a good catch up over the teacups.“We just all love to sing and be together.

If you want to play, then play.

If you want to sing, then sing.

It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re enjoying it,” one member explains.The group says the crowds seem to enjoy their performances and often sing or clap along.Nga Kete Matauranga Pounamu CEO Tracey Wright-Tawha says that the beloved kaumatua offer more than the joy of music.“They demonstrate love and care for fellow man, share themselves, connect people and create a place of unity.

They give generously of their time and energy and are completely selfless.

I love being in their company and always feel better for the opportunity.”Te Puna Waiora Ukulele GroupInvercargill

Interactive Volunteer Stories Map

This story was shared as part of our interactive map of volunteer stories from across Aotearoa, which we launched during #NVW2019.

This map is filled with stories from volunteers throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand.

This map celebrates the contribution of volunteers in their communities throughout Aotearoa.

It aims to inspire people to engage in volunteering, Mahi Aroha and social action and to realise the benefits of weaving their communities together through their actions.

I grew up in a market town outside of Cambridge, England, moving to New Zealand in 2005.

I went to four different primary schools, two high schools, and two different universities.

The one constant through all this time was Guiding — a regular weekly meeting where fun was to be had, stories were shared, and skills were gained.My journey as a volunteer with GirlGuiding started during my first year of NCEA, when I began helping a local Brownie group.

My goal?

To tick off enough hours to complete my community service requirements, and then depart so I could focus on my schoolwork.

After a year, I had signed up as a permanent volunteer.The reason for this change in mindset was simple: the girls.

They make you smile when you’re not feeling your best, their world is full of creativity, and anything is possible.

To be part of their journey, and to encourage them to reach their dreams is an incredible vocation.

Working as a volunteer helps to weave our local communities together.

It builds a network of relationships between our girls, parents, volunteers, and other members of the community who help out – through sponsoring events and gear, or simply by buying a packet of our well-loved biscuits.As I continued with the Brownie group, I also started helping a local Guide group in a neighbouring suburb.

Balancing these two commitments meant I learnt more about time management, confidence, and communication, as well as focusing on my first year of university.Without Guiding, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

As a volunteer, I was challenged not just in my adolescence, but as I emerged into adulthood as well.

How was I supposed to deliver a programme on body confidence if I myself had insecurities with my body image?

It enabled me to look at myself in a new way, and better support my girls in exploring their individuality and identity.

The highlight of my week are Wednesday evenings with my Rangers.

From the in-jokes to personal development, from leadership to astronomy, these girls lead the programme and I act as their facilitator on their personal journey.

It helps me feel close to my Grandmother, who was an avid member of GirlGuiding, and I want to build the same positive relationships with my girls and community that I was provided with as a girl.Bryony SmithGirl Guiding New Zealand

Interactive Volunteer Stories Map

This story was shared as part of our interactive map of volunteer stories from across Aotearoa, which we launched during #NVW2019.

This map is filled with stories from volunteers throughout Aotearoa, New Zealand.

This map celebrates the contribution of volunteers in their communities throughout Aotearoa.

It aims to inspire people to engage in volunteering, Mahi Aroha and social action and to realise the benefits of weaving their communities together through their actions.

The power and politics of volunteering.

Volunteering is a powerful activity that can influence people’s lives, change attitudes, and even achieve political reform.

This power comes with many opportunities as well as immense responsibility.

In this blog post, I share some ways we might think about the power of volunteering, its relationship with politics, and how we can ensure we are being ethical and effective volunteers.Volunteering has a powerful role to play in filling service provision gaps that arise for a multitude of reasons:Some things cannot wait for government policies or “official action”.

It becomes up to each and every one of us to take up that challenge in the meantime.

Therein lies the social power of volunteering – the ability to take action when no one is quite ready or able to.

Many of us are volunteers because we are impatient – impatient to wait for others to act or for policies to change; instead, choosing to help now.

In the United Kingdom, I am involved with a charity attempting to promote greater educational equity across Oxfordshire.

In an ideal world, the government would invest far more resources into state schools, promote greater equality of opportunity across the population, and introduce a comprehensive strategy around achieving educational equity.

In our non-ideal world, where our leaders are unable or unwilling to act, volunteers have a role to play in helping those who struggle.

The act of volunteering in this context is powerful not only because we often have the privilege of making a significant impact on students who have been failed by the system, but because it sends a powerful message to others about the importance of educational equity.Volunteering is a powerful language:The social and political power of volunteering also comes from the fact that volunteering is a language that can send a powerful message to leaders, policy-makers, and others in the community.

When we act through our own volition and without expecting payment, we send a vastly different message than when we do something because we are obligated and paid to.New Zealand abounds with countless examples of the power of volunteering being harnessed to advance social justice: environmental action and protests against climate change, the campaign for marriage equality which saw thousands take to the streets in support, Te Puea marae hosting dozens of homeless families and helping them into housing, and numerous other examples.

What is clear about each of these campaigns is that had the actions not been carried out voluntarily – by volunteers – the impact and the message would have been very different.

The political change that arose as a result of those actions happened precisely because they were undertaken in a voluntary capacity; because people chose to freely contribute their time, energy, and skills (in vast displays of strength and number) to make a statement of justice rather than doing so because they had to; and because they drew on the language of volunteering.The language of volunteering is an inevitable statement that when we do something for free, it is because we value and care deeply about that ‘something’.

If those social campaigns were merely undertaken by people who were paid to march in the streets, it would not have had anywhere near the same magnitude of social impact.

This is what makes activism different from lobbying.

The activist is driven by passion and altruism, while the lobbyist is driven primarily by money or other pecuniary considerations.Volunteering is never a politically or morally neutral act:While the social and political power of volunteering means it can be harnessed for great things, we should also be attuned to the ways it can be used in ways contrary to our goal of improving welfare and achieving social justice.Volunteering is often a complicated balance between filling an urgent service- provision gap now and ensuring that we do not dis-incentivise political institutions from dealing with more structural issues.

A practical step I advocate is thatorganisations doing ground-level volunteering (that is, volunteering based on grassroots service provision) should always be accompanied by strategic political activism that deals with wider socio-political factors.The case of homelessness is an excellent example.

While there are many organisations doing fantastic work helping the homeless on our streets, it is vital that they simultaneously advocate for more substantive, longer-term, upstream solutions.The rights and welfare of the homeless should not depend on charitable contingencies or the coincidental goodwill of volunteers; it should be guaranteed by the state as a matter of justice.

In this context, volunteering has a very important role to play, but it must be accompanied by strong political activism and structural reform in order to be ethical and effective.We often join volunteering causes because we feel a strong emotional connection.

While this may be understandable, we must always be cautious about the way these intuitions and emotive forces have been shaped.

For example, many people feel a stronger connection to causes closer to home, involving their compatriots.

While community ties are of course important, we must also not forget that these intuitions about helping our compatriots have been shaped in a particular socio-political context.

This socio-political context may have unjustifiably influenced us to think about “our own” at the expense of those who are not seen as “us”.When we volunteer, we must reflect not only on our actions but on our inactions.

We must make sacrifices about what we devote our limited time and resources to, but we must always be critically reflective about our reasons for committing to a particular cause, and whether we ought to broaden our volunteering horizons beyond just helping those we see as being like “us”.

Volunteering is not just about what we do, but also what we don’t do.Because volunteering is inherently political, it may compel us to ask very difficult questions of ourselves.

Is working with this particular charity the most effective and equitable way I can contribute my limited time and resources?

Is my volunteer work dealing with upstream, structural factors or am I merely part of the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff?

Why am I really volunteering for this charity, and am I doing it for the right reasons?

Can I do more good elsewhere?

Is my volunteering work helping to achieve social justice?Volunteering is not just good or beneficial or fun or rewarding: it is also powerful.

As volunteers, I have no doubt that you are committed, passionate, wonderful, and caring people; but do not forget: You are also powerful.

With that power comes an immense ability and responsibility to care, reform, and critically reflect.Volunteering is usually most ethical and effective when grassroots compassion is accompanied by vocal political activism and the pursuit of wider structural reform.

• Johann Go. Volunteering New Zealand's Programme Advisor - Strategy.

Further reading and resources on volunteering:

• Research on Volunteering
• Volunteering Best Practice Toolkit
• Certificate in Managing Volunteers

Micro-volunteering is bite-sized, on-demand, no commitment actions that benefit a worthy cause. Micro-volunteering is quick and convenient – a micro-volunteering opportunity might take less than two minutes to complete and in some cases can be done from the comfort of your couch in your pyjamas.

Microvolunteering allows more people to give back to their community and complements, rather than replaces, traditional forms of volunteering.

A key benefit of microvolunteering is that it provides a space for those who wouldn’t otherwise consider volunteering, or be able to.

Predictions from the Institute of Volunteer Research’s (UK) are that the need for microvolunteering will only increase with time.In the last few years a phone app has provided invaluable assistance to people around the world.

Be My Eyes links blind and vision-impaired people to sighted volunteers in an on-demand app service.

The way the app works is by enabling live video on the sight-impaired person’s phone and beaming what they can’t see to a volunteer to describe; whether it be identifying the expiration date on food packaging, describing a picture or finding a lost earring.

Katie Bruce, VNZ’s Chief Executive is just one of these sighted assistants and last week supported someone to apply make up for their wedding anniversary date.

Katie says that "being able to be there for someone exactly when they need it is a real privilege.

A conversation that might only be a couple of minutes can be a real highlight of my day".

She has tapped into a new and flourishing form of volunteerism, one that could have only been born in the fast-paced busy world of today: Microvolunteering.

Celebrating Microvolunteering April 15, every year

April 15 marks Microvolunteering Day when volunteering is recast as an activity that needs not be constrained by stereotypical views of volunteering being a time and commitment intensive activity.This is an internationally celebrated day that takes place on 15^th April every year.

Organised by Help from Home, it is a unique opportunity to demonstrate the power and potential of the microvolunteering concept.Celebrating Micro-volunteering day is a chance to recognise new and different ways to involve volunteers within organisations.

Last year we released a collation of Virtual Volunteering resources during lockdown.

We have also found this great resource about creating micro-volunteering action plan: How To Develop a Microvolunteering Action: A guide for Charities and NonProfits.Celebrating it as a community is an opportunity to inspire individuals to engage in microvoluntering tasks and to inspire organisations that involve volunteers to embrace the idea and find ways to offer opportunities for individuals to connect or contribute to their cause.Microvolunteering Day is also a unique opportunity for microvolunteering platforms, volunteer involved organisations and individuals to join together in a synchronised effort to demonstrate the empowering potential of the microvolunteering concept.

What makes Microvolunteering unique?

Micro-volunteering tends to take place online (more than 80%, a 2016 study by Help From Home, a business that pairs people with micro-volunteering tasks, found) and the volunteers are often spread across a wide geographical area.

Microvolunteering has three specific features:

1. typically there is no application or training process
2. the volunteer-tasks take generally no more than 30 minutes to complete and
3. there is no expectation of an ongoing commitment between organisation and volunteer.

Microvolunteering may also be called ‘byte-sized volunteering’, ‘speed volunteering’ and ‘micro-actions’.Want to do some Microvolunteering right now?

Why not check out Toko – New Zealand’s people powered petition platform.

Start your own campaign or support a campaign.Or if you have a couple of minutes to spare you could promote the upcoming National Volunteer Week 16-22 June 2019 to your networks by sharing our downloadable resources.Michelle KitneyVolunteering New Zealand

Saving New Zealand's Birds.

This video documents Barry, a volunteer who dedicates his time to conservation efforts in his local community.

Barry's message is heartfelt, highlighting that everyone has something to offer through volunteering.

This video was produced by Amelia Blamey, VNZ Community Engagement Advisor.

Our natural environmental is an integral part of New Zealand’s identity.

Informing how we look at the world and interact with others.

We are blessed with pristine beaches, lush bush and snow capped mountains.

The preservation of these natural wonders is no small feet and is in no way ensured.

It is the result of thousands of hardworking New Zealanders tirelessly working to ensure its protection.

Our ongoing fight is a necessity to protect our heritage, culture and identity; all of which is intrinsically linked to our natural environment.

The purpose of my video was to provide insight into dedication and the hard work of our volunteers, especially those who operate behind the scenes.

I hope that it highlights the fact that everyone has something to offer to the world and that every has a responsibility to preserve what is good in it. This video was launched during Conservation Week I Te Wiki Tiaki Ao Turoa as our way to acknowledge the incredible effort of conservation volunteers.Amelia Blamey, VNZ Community Engagement Advisor

Amelia is studying towards a Bachelor of Commerce, with majors in Finance and Marketing, and minor in Film.

She hopes to use her passion for storytelling to raise awareness and encourage activism in her community.VNZ Resources:

• Conservation and volunteering research
• Finding volunteer roles
• State of Volunteering Report

Volunteering for People with Disabilities

Public discourse overwhelmingly frames people with disabilities as receiving help, rather than providing it.

This is a problem for several reasons:

• It is incorrect.
• A study conducted by Carrie L.
• Shandra in the United States indicated that people with disabilities are just as likely as people without disabilities to report informal volunteering.
• This is voluntary work outside of a formal organization—for example, helping an elderly neighbor with cooking.
• A copy of Shandra’s paper “Disability and social participation: The case of formal and informal participation” can currently be found on the Volunteering New Zealand website.
• It influences volunteering organisations to overlook the potential for people with disabilities to volunteer in a way that is compatible with their disabilities.
• It discourages people with disabilities from seeing themselves as people who can help others.
• This in turn discourages people with disabilities from contacting organisations about opportunities to volunteer.

People with disabilities are significantly underrepresented as volunteers with organisations.

Shandra identifies ableism as being the most important barrier to people with disabilities participating in formal volunteering.

On the one hand, organisations often choose applicants without disabilities, rather than applicants with disabilities, to fill certain roles, without fully considering whether the disabilities in question would have affected the applicants’ abilities to perform the roles.

On the other hand, organisations often do not know how to recruit for volunteers in a way that reaches people with disabilities.This is unfortunate, because volunteering is positively correlated with happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, psychological well-being, and self-reported health.

Liat Kulik conducted a study of 160 people in Israel with physical disabilities, including some who did not volunteer, and some who did volunteer.

The participants who volunteered reported significantly higher self-esteem than the participants who did not volunteer.

In particular, Kulik noted that participants from lower socio-economic backgrounds especially reported higher self-esteem than their non-volunteering counterparts.

A lot to gain by volunteering

Volunteering also helps people to meet other people—this increases their opportunities to make friends, find employment, and engage with their communities.

Most of the participants in Kulik’s study agreed that Volunteering was an effective way to make new friends.

People with disabilities, like people without disabilities, stand to gain a lot by being able to volunteer.

In many cases, a person with a disability can perform a volunteer role in the same capacity as a person without a disability.

In other cases, a person with a disability can perform a volunteer role in a modified capacity that is appropriate to his or her individual condition.Of course, it is a positive thing that there are many services and organisations built around providing help to people with disabilities.

Disabilities can affect people’s quality of life, and people with disabilities often do need and want help.

However, it is important that society see people with disabilities as people who can both receive help, and provide help, like people without disabilities.

A person who is willing and able to perform a volunteer role with an organization must not be held back just because they have disability.

We must find imaginative ways of enabling people with disabilities to volunteer in ways that are appropriate to their individual conditions.

Author: Lucas Davies Lucas is writing a series of blogs posts and articles for Volunteering New Zealand, with a focus on research articles. Article References:

Carrie L.

Shandra Disability and Social Participation: The Case of Formal and Informal Participation (Social Science Research 68 (2017) 195-213) published online 2 March 2017, retrieved 4 April 2018.

Liat Kulik. Through Adversity Comes Strength: Volunteering and Self-Esteem Among People with Physical Disabilities (Voluntas DOI: 10.1007/s11266-017-9914-5), retrieved 29 April 2018.Volunteering New Zealand Research and Resources:

• Competencies for Managers of Volunteers
• Research on disabilities and volunteering
• LeadMe - free online self-assessment tool to assist you to create better outcomes for your organisation's volunteers

This opinion article is one in a series of responses by thought leaders in response to our State of the Decade of Volunteering report. Angela Wallace is the Volunteering Services Manager at SociaLink working to grow and support volunteering across the Western Bay of Plenty.

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As a manager of a volunteer centre, I’m often asked how I think volunteering is faring in our busy and pressured world. There are very real challenges: the rising cost of living, people juggling multiple jobs, growing individualism, and increasing social isolation.

And yet, despite all of this, I believe volunteering in Aotearoa is not only holding steady – it is thriving. More than that, volunteering offers us a pathway through many of the challenges we face as communities today. It is one of the ways we pull together, working shoulder to shoulder for something bigger than ourselves.

With 2026 designated as the International Volunteer Year, Volunteering New Zealand’s State of the Decade of Volunteering report gives us timely and valuable way markers. It helps us understand what hasc hanged, what has endured, and where we need to focus our collective effort if volunteering is to remain strong, visible, and valued into the future.

Here’s what stands out to me.

Volunteering is strong

The Decade report shows that more people are volunteering in Aotearoa than ever before. While individuals may be contributing fewer hours on average, more people are giving small but regular amounts of time.

The recent International Volunteer Day theme, Every Contribution Counts, could not be more fitting. When volunteering is spread across more people, the benefits ripple outwards.

Each volunteer connects with a cause. They build relationships and friendships. They rub shoulders with people who can be very different from themselves. They gain skills, confidence, and insight – and invite others to join them in the mahi.

The impact is wide-reaching: stronger social connections, greater understanding of difference and diversity, and increased social cohesion across communities. And of course, there is the immediate and tangible benefit of the volunteer work itself for the organisations and causes being supported.

People want to play a meaningful part in their community

The report confirms what many of us see every day: volunteers are motivated by purpose. Today’s volunteers seek opportunities that align with their values, fit around their lives, and allow them to use or grow their skills.

When people care about their communities, communities thrive. While many volunteers may no longer be able to commit to long-term, regular roles, they are still deeply willing to give their time and energy when the opportunity feels meaningful and manageable.

This is where storytelling matters. Clearly communicating the purpose and impact of volunteer roles is key to engaging and retaining volunteers. When someone understands how their fortnightly two hours contributes to positive change, they are far more likely to keep coming back.

Take the volunteer at a local animal shelter. Much of their time may be spent cleaning cages and washing blankets, yet they return week after week because they know their effort helps animals feel safe, cared for, and ready for rehoming. That connection to purpose makes all the difference.

Adaptation is essential

This brings us to a clear challenge for volunteer-involving organisations: we must adapt.

As the Decade report reminds us, “The strength of Aotearoa New Zealand’s voluntary sector lies not only in its history, but in its capacity to adapt and innovate”.

The spirit of volunteering remains a cornerstone of community life in Aotearoa, but the ways people choose to volunteer – how, when, and why – are changing. Our roles, systems, and expectations need to reflect the realities of modern life.

We need to ask ourselves:

• How are we adapting our volunteer roles to meet the needs of today's volunteers?
• How are our practices becoming more flexible, responsive and welcoming for people who are time-poor, mobile, digitally savvy, and keen to contribute in purposeful ways?

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The task ahead is not to recreate volunteering as it once was, but to recognise and support what it is becoming. The energy, care, and willingness are still here. The question is whether our institutions and practices are evolving to meet them.

We continue to value and appreciate the volunteers who form the civic core – those who give regularly, often for many hours, and stay connected to organisations for years. At the same time, the data tells us this group is shrinking as our population ages. We’re also becoming a more diverse and multicultural society. To sustain volunteering into the future, our approach must evolve, meeting new generations of volunteers where they are.

In this International Volunteer Year 2026, I feel genuinely encouraged by the commitment I see across our community sector: people stepping up to support those who are struggling, welcoming newcomers, and acting as kaitiaki for our whānau and whenua.

Volunteering has the power to bring people together, to repair what has been broken, and to build something stronger than the sum of its parts. There is a place for everyone who wants to show aroha to their community through volunteering.

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He waka eke noa – we are all in this together.
Pick up a paddle! Let’s forge ahead in our waka.

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This opinion article is one in a series of responses by thought leaders in response to our State of the Decade of Volunteering report. Dr Blake Bennett is a senior lecturer, Education and Social Practice, University of Auckland. He is a researcher and educator invested in various facets of sports coaching and coach development. He penned an interesting article about volunteer sport coaches recently.

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Introduction: what is resilience resting on?

Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on The State of the Decade Report. The report is thoughtful and, importantly, useful. The ten-year lens helps us see patterns that shorter cycles often obscure, the data are presented clearly, and the trends are laid out in a way that makes sense.

What I find myself sitting with, though, isn’t whether the sector is resilient. The question for me is what that resilience is resting on. For instance, the report highlights a steady 6.5/10 across the decade and a small participation increase from 50.7% to 53%. On paper, that may read as stability. But stability and sustainability are not the same thing.

Resilience could be interpreted as signalling a ‘thriving’ sector. Indeed, the report leans in that direction. But resilience can also mean coping and adapting under strain. It might also signal (as the data indicate) a relatively small group of people carrying more than their fair share for longer than is healthy.

When I read the sections on ageing demographics, administrative burden, mixed government support, and moderate technology uptake, I don’t see a sector that is failing. But I’m not entirely convinced I see one that is thriving either. What I see, more likely, is a sector that is holding, and sometimes only just.

Which leads me to a broader question: if we frame the sector primarily as “thriving” and “resilient”, do we risk dulling the urgency around the very real challenges identified in the report? There are clear pressures and structural tensions in the sector, and with these come wellbeing implications for volunteers who continue on while sufficient support from new or additional contributors is not forthcoming.

If anything, the findings present an opportunity: not to reassure, but to rally stronger government recognition, resourcing, and attention to the cumulative strain being absorbed by committed volunteers.

Below are some more detailed comments and reflections.

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Ageing volunteers and obligation

The ageing volunteer base is clearly identified in the report, as is the difficulty organisations face in recruiting younger people whose motivations often lean toward strategic volunteering aligned with career interests. That finding makes sense, and it is not overly surprising.

What deserves ongoing attention, though, is what this means for those who remain.

Across many small clubs and volunteer-led organisations, it is often the older generation who are holding on, sometimes explicitly out of obligation, and sometimes out of a very real concern that if they step away, the organisation may not survive. This is not anecdotal; it is something I repeatedly see in practice and in research conversations. People stay because “it has to be done.” While this is admirable, it also has implications for wellbeing.

The report quite rightly acknowledges resilience, but resilience can also mask fatigue. If a cohort continues to absorb administrative burden, compliance expectations, and operational responsibility while new volunteers are not forthcoming insufficient numbers, then we need to be careful about describing that as a healthy/thriving situation. It may be functioning, but equally, it may also be fragile.

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Episodic volunteering

The report notes the rise of episodic and short-term volunteering and suggests that organisations are adapting by offering more flexible roles. At a broad level, that makes sense. Contemporary life is fragmented and people commit differently.

However, flexibility is easier in some contexts than others.

In the sport sector, for example, the requirement for governance, safeguarding enactment, financial oversight, or specialist technical/coaching knowledge, mean that responsibilities cannot simply be broken into short-term tasks. At least, without losing continuity and institutional memory. The suggestion that organisations can redesign roles to accommodate episodic volunteering is valid, but it is not universally transferable.

This is not a rejection of episodic models. It is a caution against assuming that flexibility alone resolves structural complexity.

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Professionalisation and increasing expectations

The report discusses increasing professionalisation across the sector: more structured onboarding, clearer standards, performance management practices, and, in some responses, perceptions of incompetence among those who have been in roles for along time.

This presents an interesting dilemma. On the one hand, there is a legitimate need to modernise practice and meet regulatory expectations. On the other, this is a voluntary sector. For many organisations, it is difficult to expect ‘professionalisation of process’ without the provision of professional infrastructure. Here, it is important to highlight that, if operational complexity continues to increase, and responsibility continues to sit with unpaid individuals, then describing the sector as thriving may understate the structural tension present.

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"Unskilled labour": a semantic but important point

The report includes the perception that volunteers are sometimes seen as a “convenient source of unskilled labour.” Given the level of skill required to navigate compliance requirements, enact safeguarding policy, manage finances, and sustain community relationships, many volunteer roles are anything but unskilled!

Semantics aside, this matters because if volunteers are being relied upon to perform increasingly complex and accountable roles, then the narrative should reflect that level of skill and responsibility. Doing so would reveal, more clearly, the implications these trends have on the recruitment, retention, and wellbeing of the volunteer workforce.

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Technology and capacity

Technology uptake is described as moderate, with barriers including infrastructure gaps and reluctance to change. Another way to interpret this finding (especially in light of the ageing demographic and administrative burden) is in terms of capacity. Long-term contributors who are already stretched may not have the time or headspace to implement new systems, even if those systems promise efficiency gains.

This does not/is not intended to contradict the report’s findings. Rather, it is to suggest another possible interpretation that slow adoption may signal saturation rather than resistance.

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Final comment

The report provides a strong descriptive account of the decade. Yet, my overall reflection is that the framing warrants care, and that the findings present an opportunity to draw attention to a sector that may not be as healthy as summarised.

To put it bluntly, if the sector is primarily described as resilient and thriving, it may inadvertently soften the urgency around structural pressures clearly present in the findings. A modest increase in participation does not automatically equate to sustainable load distribution, and a steady 6.5/10 does not necessarily capture the strain experienced by those carrying disproportionate responsibility.

Yes, resilience and adaptability are evident. But we should also consider an alternative interpretation: maybe what appears as sector-wide resilience, in practice, reflects the persistence of committed, community-minded people doing what they feel they have to do to keep things running.

If that is the case, then the stability reflected in participation rates and sentiment scores may not signal structural health. It may instead reflect a cohort absorbing pressure over time. This distinction is of critical importance, because if ‘resilience’ is resting primarily on those who persist, rather than on strengthened infrastructure and broader participation, then we need to ask whether the foundation is secure for the decade ahead.

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This opinion article is one in a series of responses by Community and Volunteer Sector thought leaders in response to our State of the Decade of Volunteering report.

UK-based Rob Jackson has over 30 years’ experience working in the voluntary and community sector, holding a variety of strategic development and senior management roles that have focused on leading and engaging volunteers. 

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Thank you, Volunteering New Zealand, for publishing the “State of the Decade of Volunteering” report. Any research and data that allows us to explore trends in volunteering is vital to ensuring that Volunteer Engagement Professionals, Volunteer Involving Organisations, volunteering infrastructure, funders, policymakers, and others make properly informed decisions to strengthen our communities.

I was honoured to be invited by Volunteering New Zealand to give my reflections on this new report. I do so from my perspective as a UK-based consultant on volunteer engagement, someone who has had the privilege of engaging with colleagues around the world (including New Zealand) on the crucial issues facing volunteering in our ever-changing world.

In my article, I want to reflect on three shifts in volunteer engagement that Volunteer Involving Organisations need to make. These are not all unique to New Zealand, but they are borne outby the data in the “State of the Decade of Volunteering” report. I hope they are of help and considered in the spirit in which they are shared — one of seeking a better future for society, our organisations, and volunteering.

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1. Stop seeing long-term and short-term volunteering as binary options

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“Organisations are finding it harder to secure volunteers who are willing to undertake long-term commitments, and many now rely on a small group of highly engaged but aging individuals, placing additional pressure on this core cohort.” - State of the Decade of Volunteering report

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There is much in the report about the changing nature of volunteering. People are giving less time, and they are doing so on their terms and not ours. Volunteering New Zealand sums it up well when they talk of the public taking a more casual approach to volunteering, one that is at odds with the traditional, formal and structured approach employed by many organisations.

Volunteer Engagement Professionals and Volunteer Involving Organisations understandably bemoan this situation. Demand for their work is rising as funding falls, just as the models of volunteer engagement they have relied upon for so long undergo fundamental changes. It’s not an easy situation.

We can worsen it, though. If we view people’s commitment to volunteering as binary — either short or long term — then we miss a rich and fertile land of potential that lies between.

There is huge potential in that fertile middle ground — taking people from their first engagement to a deepening relationship with our organisations where, over time, they can step up to the high commitment roles we need filled.

It is wrong to say that people won’t make regular, long-term commitments to volunteer any more. Rather, they won’t do it on day one. We must take people on a journey, one they are controlling, allowing them to adapt their commitment over time as we create and curate meaningful ways for people to engage with the causes they are passionate about.

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2. Start collaborating

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”The availability of entertainment options has changed drastically in the past decade. The rise of our digital, connected world means that there is always ‘something to do’ or ‘something on’, directly competing with the time people are able to devote to volunteering. This cultural shift towards so-called “on-demand lifestyles” has created competition between volunteering and other leisure pursuits, reshaping the volunteer offering and expectations from both individuals and organisations.” - State of the Decade of Volunteering report

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If the first shift sounds challenging, here’s some good news. You are not in it alone. Every Volunteer Involving Organisation is facing, or will face, the need to shift their engagement practice as volunteering changes.

Yet, if we see our nonprofits as in competition with each other, we will make our task of adapting to the new volunteering reality more difficult than it needs to be.

Here’s the truth — you are not in competition with other organisations seeing to recruit volunteers in your community. You are all in competition with any of those multitudes of ways people can choose to spend their spare time.

If Volunteer Involving Organisations come together to face this common challenge, then we can find creative new ways to engage people. Volunteer sharing initiatives, local passporting schemes and other collaborative efforts help make it easier for people to volunteer. We can do what we can to reduce bureaucracy and make it possible for people to move more seamlessly between organisations according to the needs and desires of the individual.

As Lucas Meijs and Jeff Brudney put it in their 2009 paper, "It Ain't Natural: Toward a New (Natural) Resource Conceptualization for Volunteer Management”, it is our collective responsibility to work together to steward the natural resource of volunteer energy in our communities.

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3. Start to invest in volunteer expenses

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“…the majority of VIOs do not routinely reimburse volunteers for all their out-of-pocket expenses.”

“Many organisations are now taking active steps to embed diversity and inclusion into their practices… This formalisation of values reflects a broader sectoral shift toward diversion, inclusion, and equity.” - State of the Decade of Volunteering report

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Progress on diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) is welcome. Yet, it will always be limited if Volunteer Involving Organisations are not providing the reimbursement of volunteer expenses.

Without covering expenses, volunteering becomes the preserve of those who can afford to engage in it. That creates uniformity, inequity and exclusion, the very opposite of what we want to achieve.

I know money can be scarce. Volunteering is often an easy budget line to realise savings from. But I will be blunt — it is hypocritical to claim to champion DEI and not provide volunteer expenses.

Challenging as it may be, money needs to be allocated to offer and provide expense reimbursement to all volunteers. Whether it’s an organisation, government (at all levels), or a funder seeking to effective positive change, volunteer expenses are not a cost to be cut but a vital and worthwhile investment in the future of healthy, vibrant New Zealand society.

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This opinion article is one in a series of responses by Community and Volunteer Sector thought leaders in response to our State of the Decade of Volunteering report.

Victoria Davy is Head of Volunteering at Blind Low Vision New Zealand, with more than 30 years of leadership experience, including over a decade in volunteer leadership within the not-for-profit sector, alongside a background in business management and life coaching.

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Thank you for the privilege of reviewing State of the Decade of Volunteering report. I found it insightful, well-researched, and thorough. While it provides a detailed picture of where the volunteering sector is now and how we arrived here, I found the insights inspiring.

The report highlights the opportunity we have to build volunteer functions across all sectors and organisations, large and small, that truly align with the roles, experiences, and values that todays and tomorrow’s volunteers are seeking. To achieve this, organisations will need to take a hard look at how they operate, manage, and support both staff and volunteers. Government agencies also need to be part of this shift. A real meeting of the minds is needed if New Zealanders are to continue receiving the services that volunteers have delivered over the past several decades.

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What’s needed for change

I read this report through a lens of opportunity. The younger generation of volunteers are seeking new ways to contribute, and while the market can adapt, it will require:

• Operational and technological shifts
• Cultural shifts in how organisations structure staff roles, teams, and relationships
• A stronger commitment to building one team culture where staff and volunteers work side by side. This is something I am particularly passionate about.

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Another key theme I saw is the need for the sector to raise a united voice. Volunteer-involving organisations must come together, rather than speak as smaller, disparate voices, if the sector, its clients, and volunteers are to be heard. There is also an opportunity, and necessity, for organisations delivering similar services to collaborate in advocating for resourcing and considerations to be built into policy decisions. With government agencies increasingly relying on volunteers to fill service gaps, there is strength in unity.

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I also see potential for smaller organisations to band together, pooling expertise and experience to adapt to a changing market, professionalise the sector, and embrace technological advances. For example, multiple organisations could jointly engage CRM specialists to develop technology platforms, lowering costs overall and increasing bargaining power.

There is urgency for the sector to address the professionalism of volunteer recruitment, management, support, and recognition if we are to continue delivering vital services to New Zealanders. I was particularly encouraged by the sections on the next generation of volunteers and what they are looking for. I am already reflecting on the elements of our own volunteering function that I will intentionally rebuild to attract these volunteers in ways that suit them, while also ensuring continuity of services delivered by volunteers for our clients.

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Reflections on the next five years

Looking ahead, I see several key issues for volunteers and volunteering in Aotearoa over the next five years, alongside the opportunities they present:

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Recruitment and retention

Issue: Finding ways to engage diverse volunteers with different motivations, availability, and expectations.

Opportunity: Build and adapt functions that are flexible rather than static, able to evolve with the times. Review volunteering structures, roles, and outputs, creating more specialised, time-bound roles (e.g., six months) and splitting larger roles to make them more manageable. Leverage technology, including AI tools like ChatGPT, to free up volunteer and staff capacity to focus on serving clients. Grow the volunteer base by attracting people of all backgrounds and skills, fostering a dynamic and inclusive volunteer community. Developing opportunities that meet the market rather than role driven opportunities that cannot be filled or sustained.

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Professionalism of the sector

Issue: Ensuring volunteer management is resourced, respected, and embedded in organisational structures.

Opportunity: Elevate volunteer management as a core function, fully integrated into organisational leadership, with dedicated resources to support volunteer success. Foster an environment where the organisations in the sector work together, leveraging each other’s expertise and experience to maximise the impact and effectiveness of volunteering.

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Technology and systems

Issue: Adopting fit-for-purpose tools that support volunteers, streamline processes, and reduce duplication.

Opportunity: Make volunteering easier, more rewarding, and more impactful by using systems that help volunteers connect directly with roles and opportunities they’re trained and approved for. Streamline processes so everyone can focus on what matters most - helping clients - rather than getting bogged down in paperwork. Work smarter, not harder, and use technology to free up time and energy for meaningful contribution.

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Collaboration and advocacy

Issue: Uniting voices across the sector to influence policy and secure sustainable resourcing.

Opportunity: Build strong sector-wide partnerships and alliances to amplify our voice, influence policy, and secure long-term investment in volunteering.

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Cultural change

Issue: Building truly inclusive “one team” environments where staff and volunteers work together seamlessly.

Opportunity: Foster workplaces where staff and volunteers operate as one team, in cultures that value inclusion, respect, and shared purpose. Champion the impact of volunteering by having a clear organisational position on volunteering, ensuring consistency, preventing misuse of volunteer roles, and providing a high-quality experience for all volunteers, no matter where they serve.

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Thank you again for sharing this report, I am thoroughly inspired by the opportunities ahead of us if we as a sector are brave and honest in addressing the current issues, I believe we can.

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