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Top 10 Star Volunteer: Jean Walters
Introducing Jean Walters, a volunteer with Age Concern Tauranga Inc and one of the Top 10 Star Volunteers! In 2009, Jean began volunteering with Age Concern Tauranga's visiting service. Motivated by her mother's experience with loneliness, she started visiting a new friend weekly, providing companionship for 15 years. Throughout
Top 10 Star Volunteer: Alf Terry
Introducing Alf Terry, one of the Top 10 Star Volunteers! Alf Terry has been volunteering for Breast Cancer Support Service Tauranga Trust (BCSS) for over 14 years. He volunteers in the Chemotherapy Ward at the Tauranga Hospital providing morning and afternoon tea to patients having treatment plus their family,
Top 3 Star Volunteer: Rubirose Russell
Rubirose Russell of Maketū has already made a start on her chosen career at 14. She’s one of three Volunteering Services Bay of Plenty’s Volunteer Stars for her volunteer work making artistic resources for the early childhood centre at Maketū. It will come in handy when she qualifies as
Top 3 Star Volunteer: John Bothwell
John Bothwell has a hand in most of the volunteering activities in Katikati. He’s just been named as a Volunteering Star by Volunteering Services Bay of Plenty, and received his award at a Katikati Community Breakfast this week. A former pharmacist, at 74 John hasn’t bothered to retire. “I’ve got
Top 3 Star Volunteer: Scotty Harvey
Scotty Harvey is a social worker who doesn’t sit behind a desk to talk to his mental health clients. He’s out on the road every day, parked up to talk to anyone who needs his help through UOKBRO NZ. Scotty has just been named one of three Star Volunteers
Making a friendly space for elders in Waihī Beach
Trudy Van Stee is in her happy place - behind the drums at a music afternoon with about 20 members of A Friends Place. She’s surprised to be Volunteering Services’ Volunteer of the Month, but the many older people living at the beach aren’t. They know about the many activities
Get to know neighbours for a safer, friendlier city
Want to get to know your neighbours - and your city - better? Western Bay of Plenty Neighbourhood Support is keen to find more volunteer Area Coordinators, and help make the city more friendly, connected and safer. It has about 14,500 member families around the city, but needs more
A new tool to support volunteer engagement
Volunteers | tūao give their unpaid time and skills to communities and causes they believe in. This volunteering action needs to be nurtured and enabled. Our Guidelines are based on what volunteers need and offers easy steps for you to meet their needs. Seven practice areas, based on the volunteering lifecycle
Alzheimer’s Tauranga urgently needing volunteers
What have you got planned for 2024? Could you help by volunteering with Alzheimer’s Tauranga to make life more rewarding for the more than 600 families across the Western Bay of Plenty living with dementia? Alzheimers Tauranga is urgently looking for volunteers to help support the growing number of
Volunteering Services manager wins Local Hero medal
Tauranga Volunteering Services manager Angela Wallace is a finalist in the national Local Hero awards for her work founding Awhina House, a transitional housing residence for women.She says her nomination came as a complete surprise a couple of weeks ago when she received a medal in the mail. She
Good Bitches show kindness to others
All around Tauranga, a bunch of women - and a few men - are busy in their kitchens baking cakes and slices they’ll never get to eat. It’s World Kindness Day on November 13, and many Good Bitches around the country are dropping off their goodies to women’s refuges,
Alzheimers Tauranga urgently needing volunteers
Alzheimer’s Tauranga is urgently looking for volunteers to help support families affected by dementia.The organisation provides a range of services to more than 600 families across the Western Bay of Plenty each year, a figure which is consistently growing. A number of their regular volunteers are finishing up this
Volunteer manager wears many hats
Katikati volunteer manager Lesley Ruf wears many hats - and she’s desperate for more volunteers to manage.Next week it’s International Volunteer Managers’ Day on November 5, and all over the Bay of Plenty, managers are being celebrated for the work they do for no financial reward. Lesley manages about
Candidates front up on social issues
Candidates representing some of the major political parties presented their ideas on social issues this week to an audience of about 50 people working in the social and charities sector.The meeting was organised by SociaLink and Volunteering Services which supports the Western Bay of Plenty social and community sector.
Fundraiser Rena movie night for environmental groups
Volunteering Services and Envirohub are running a fundraiser screening of the Rena disaster movie Taking Back Our Beach next month to raise funds for two environmental groups. The screening will be held on Wednesday 11 October at 6.45pm, at United Cinemas Bayfair, and will raise funds for ARRC Wildlife
Looking After the Blade
It’s Conservation Week this week, and all over the Western Bay of Plenty volunteers are out in all weather laying traps and ensuring native birds and flora can survive. Conservation volunteer John Rowlandson spends hours each week trapping “the baddies” - stoats, possums, rats, feral cats - to protect his
A volunteering challenge for election candidates
SociaLink’s Volunteering Services is throwing down a challenge for election candidates in the Western Bay of Plenty - volunteer a couple of hours for social agencies and see what’s really going on in the city. Volunteering Services manager Angela Wallace says it’s an opportunity for election candidates from the
Kura Kai keeping families fed
Staff at SociaLink and Volunteering Services turned into chefs for a couple of days last week to provide meals for Kura Kai as their contribution to National Volunteer Week.In four teams they cooked up a tuna bake, pork ragu, spaghetti carbonara and butter chicken, making 48 meals for Kura
Skyla helps the next generation of rowers
Skyla Still is at school at Ōtumoetai College, but she’s already volunteering her time to help the next generation of young rowers.At 17, she’s been with the rowing club for four years, and enjoys her sport so much she’s one of a group of young rowers who turn up every
Making the most of their abilities
At Casita’s shop in Greerton, four young workers in their twenties are taking their lunch break. They’re all volunteers at the shop, one or two days a week, and they all have an intellectual disability, either global developmental delay or Down Syndrome. And they love their work. The shop
