Local leaders help shine a light on volunteering

Black Cap Glenn Phillips enjoyed a change from the cricket pitch recently when he spent his evening supporting the Anderson Bay Sea Scouts, Dunedin.

Top-order batting-allrounder for the New Zealand national cricket team, Glenn spends many months of the year away, but when back home in Dunedin recently he was happy to support National Volunteer Week and literally jumped in to support the local sea scouts group complete their dive training.

Glenn’s involvement was part of a region wide campaign led by Volunteer South to help raise awareness of volunteer opportunities in Otago communities. Te Wiki Tūao ā-Motu National Volunteer Week honours the collective energies and mana of volunteers across the country with the theme of ‘Time to Shine – He wā pīataata,’ Volunteer South invited leaders in the community to volunteer and shine a light on opportunities to encourage others to consider volunteering.

“Glenn’s time at home is precious, however he was very happy to support National Volunteer Week. He wanted to get involved in an activity that was based around team building, leadership and adventure. Our minds immediately went to Scouts Aotearoa who are all about having fun while gaining valuable leadership skills and self-confidence through outdoor adventures.” says Volunteer South’s regional lead Gillian White.

The local Sea Scouts group were completing their three week water plan, culminating in a scuba diving course at Dive Otago. This ticked all of Glenn’s boxes and he generously shared his time and energy with the group and is helping raise awareness of the amazing work their volunteer leaders do year round.

Glenn joined the group of 10 - 14 year olds for three hours and as an experienced free diver was happy to get in the water with them.

“I was a cub when I was younger, so it was really good to learn more about Sea Scouts and make the most of my time with them by getting in the water and having lots of fun with the kids,” says Glenn.

Glenn helped alongside the dive crew and regular volunteer leaders getting the dive gear on the kids and keeping an eye on them in the water ensuring they were comfortable and confident. Scout Leader Shanna Verhoef was thrilled to have Glenn take part.

“The kids had an absolute ball. They were pretty shy at the start, but very excited to have Glenn there. He was fabulous - so hands on and happy just getting stuck in. He was great with the kids and we’d love to have him on the team should he ever settle down in the long term.”

She said “The kids had been building up to this dive session and were absolutely buzzing, spending a good 15 minutes down at the bottom of the specialist dive pool playing and learning new skills. Having Glenn there to help us and raise awareness of the amazing opportunities that Scouts Aotearoa offer these kids has been fantastic.”

“Scouts Aotearoa provide such incredible opportunities for our young people and rely on volunteers to support their work and lead local groups. If you have the time I encourage you to give it a go. There are a huge range of charities out there that involve volunteers. There is something for everyone,” Glenn said.

To find out more about volunteering with Scouts Aotearoa search our roles online or reach out to our Community Connector and we'll connect you directly.