Nicki was born and bred in Tauranga but has been away for 30 years, working in Pukekohe in the disabled and social service sector. She worked for Blind Low Vision in Needs Assessment for the midcentral area, and for IHC.
She and her husband took off for Australia for five years, working short term and travelling around the country. Her husband, a farmer, decided to semi-retire from farming and Nicki returned to the same job with Blind Low Vision when they returned to Tauranga in November 2023.
“I’ve always been involved in the volunteer space. It’s just what we do, we’re a family of volunteers. I’m looking forward to connecting with the local community and rebuilding networks having been away so long.”
She lives at Pyes Pā, but her favourite thing to do is walk their springer spaniel on the beach at the Mount.
Reach out to Nicki on nicki@socialink.org.nz or 021 225 2994
MEDIA RELEASE March 26, 2025 Young Tauranga people with disabilities are pitching in at Riding for the Disabled, keeping the grounds neat and tidy. This week four young adults from Recreate are volunteering in the sunshine weeding the Sensory Trail - but some say they would rather be in the stables working around the
MEDIA RELEASE February 27, 2025 Tanea Reihana, known as Barnee, entered the Welcome Bay Community Centre in May last year drowning in debt, ashamed and terrified. She was at rock bottom. She came to fix her finances and save her family home from a mortgagee sale. But she also found connection, community, purpose
MEDIA RELEASE February 19, 2024 Hundreds of Tauranga people overwhelmed by dealing with bureaucracy are being helped by a free advocacy service mostly staffed by volunteers. The Free Public Advocacy Service runs regular clinics in Greerton, Arataki, Pāpāmoa, Welcome Bay and a new session is starting up in March at the central city library
MEDIA RELEASE February 11, 2024 Mark Bils has been teaching English for years, but these days he says he learns just as much from his students. Mark is our Volunteer of the Month, and he teaches English to new migrants or to anyone visiting New Zealand who would like to learn more conversational English
Nationally, the NZ Red Cross coordinates over 3,000 Meals on Wheels volunteers, who deliver meals and compassion across 33 locations - a lifeline to those in need...read more here. Pam Smith has volunteered for 40 years with Meals on Wheels. After moving to Tauranga from Auckland in 1984, Pam was looking for a way to help the community. Volunteering with
MEDIA RELEASE Volunteers have been busy setting up racks of clothing and pricing shelves of homewares before a new Habitat for Humanity ReStore op shop opened in Mount Maunganui last week. The shop in Tawa Street officially opened last Friday, but work behind the scenes has been going on for a while, thanks to
Western Bay of Plenty Neighbourhood Support volunteers turned out in droves to help collect for the Emergency Services Food Drives in late November and December. Neighbourhood Support is a community-led charity building safe, supportive and connected communities throughout Aotearoa. In the Western Bay, there are 14,500 member families, with Street Groups operating in most streets
Caio Martins is just finishing his Year 12 studies but he’s already an old hand when it comes to volunteering. He’s been volunteering for One Love Charity events - like the Tauranga Diwali Festival and Holi Colour Splash - and they can’t speak highly enough of his work ethic. “Teenager Caio has shown exceptional
Frederick Wihongi got into teaching others to cook because he wanted to improve his own health. Now he’s won recognition from SociaLink’s Volunteering Services for his contribution for International Volunteer Day on December 5. He’s down at St John’s Church in Ōtumoetai on a Friday helping a group of seniors keen to learn new
A group of young people are making the most of the holidays, sprucing up Te Puke’s cricket club with a colourful mural. Kalib Wallace, from 247 Health and Fitness, mentors rangatahi in the Te Puke area at his gym and is bringing them together to paint murals. He’s completed several large murals around the
