Thank you to our supporters

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not” Dr Suess

Kaitūao o te Taitonga Volunteer South has been supporting and empowering the community through volunteering since 1986 and none of this would have been possible without our funders and supporters. We would like to thank the following for their ongoing support of our programs.

A massive thank you to Tim Wylie for his dedication and support for volunteering and the Volunteer Centre Network Aotearoa by creating both this website and database for Volunteer South.

This is what you help us to do

Tūao Awhina | Supported Volunteering
Tūao Awhina | Supported Volunteering has been operating in the Ōtepoti Dunedin centre since 1995 with only three dedicated coordinators in that time. The programme is funded by Te Whatu Ora Southern as a part of their mahi and support towards mental health and addictions recovery in the community. People who struggle with mental health are able to work with our Community Connector Peter Claman, who supports them into meaningful volunteer opportunities as a way of helping them connect with the community and explore their sense of purpose!

Community Connections Programme
Our oldest programme has been operating since 1986 and has undergone significant change in that time, especially with the development of new technology to support the connections process. Potential volunteers come to Volunteer South through face-to-face interviews or through range of media channels all directing them to our website where individuals or teams can connect to community organisations seeking volunteers. Our team supports this process with the ultimate aim of helping people find a meaningful volunteer opportunity that sparks their passions and recognises their impact. Volunteer South also offers assistance via email, phone or Zoom. This programme is run in our core hubs across the Southern region and is funded by a variety of supporters.

Strengthening Volunteering
Passionate about volunteer best practice our team spend considerable time supporting volunteer involving organisations with their progammes to encourage excellence in volunteering. This is carried out via one to one mentoring, group workshops and our Monthly Member CONNECT online networking and professional development sessions.

Community Connection Events and Awareness
Our team love getting out and about into their communities to encourage volunteering and host a range of events and initiatives throughout the year. This includes media campaigns during National Volunteer Week, Mental Health Awareness Week, International Volunteer Manager Day and International Volunteer Day. Additionally, often in partnership with others, we host connections events such as 'Find your Perfect Match - volunteer speed dating with a twist, as well as attending expos, community festivals or talking at schools or tertiary accommodation providers.

Emergency volunteering
During an emergency, many people are motivated to volunteer to support the mahi being done to help those affected by the emergency. Volunteer South is a central point for spontaneous volunteers to register their interest so that emergency services can focus on the tasks at hand and any volunteering that is called for can be carried out in a safe and coordinated way. In 2019, Volunteer South - Central Lakes supported the Civil Defence emergency during the floods in Wanaka. In 2020, Volunteer South - Dunedin supported Gore during the Southland floods and both Central Lakes and Dunedin supported the Civil Defence teams in their regions during the Covid-19 lockdown. This work was supported by funding from Otago Community Trust, Dunedin City Council, Central Lakes Trust and Wakatipu Community Foundation Greatest Needs Fund. Our work in this space was carried out in conjunction with a strong team of non profits, council and Civil Defence staff and amazingly dedicated volunteers, without whom it would not have been possible.

Thank you to our volunteers

Volunteer South is proudly supported by volunteer team members. From finance, database, marketing and of course our board - our volunteers are our greatest assets. Thank you to all our volunteers past, present and future!

Our funders and supporters: