Volunteer Voices - “You can change someone’s life with just 2-3 hours per week.” - Trevor

“Just to see the look on a kid’s face when they succeed” is the powerful motivator that has been driving Trevor Leyser to volunteer for the past 45 years. Trevor brings a lifetime of experience to his current role of Adult Buddy in Presbyterian Support Otago’s Family Works buddy programme.

Born in Clyde to a farming family of four boys, Trevor has been farming the same land in Cromwell for nearly 50 years now. Looking after sheep, cattle, deer, goats, and fruit takes a lot of hands and Trevor has always tried to make it fun for all the staff, who eventually come to feel like part of the family.

Another constant in his life has been his passion for sport. After giving nearly everything a go as a kid, he ended up focusing on rugby and playing for the South Island as a teenager. And at just 17, he began what would become a lifelong devotion – coaching.
Trevor gets a real kick out of coaching, especially the chance to “bring lesser abilities up in a team environment. With young kids, you can give them time to improve and to get everyone to score a try or a wicket. You don’t win every game but everyone has a lot of fun.”
With a firm belief that “involving kids in sports creates better adults,” he has found real purpose providing an additional role model to kids, whether that’s through coaching netball girls, junior soccer, rugby or cricket at schools, and club levels.

After all those years of coaching, Trevor has recently had the chance for a one-to-one experience via the Buddy Programme, which matches children with carefully selected and trained adult volunteers in a well-supported mentoring relationship.
The benefits of this arrangement are strong for both participants according to Trevor: “Your little buddy blooms and grows and does things he couldn’t do previously, giving you the satisfaction of seeing growth and individuality blossom. You’re just so proud of him at times.”
Starting in November, Trevor was paired with his buddy and it’s now something he looks forward to each week. He delights in introducing his buddy to things he hasn’t experienced before, be it learning to swim, going to museums, playing mini-golf, cycling, learning to fix things, gold mining or kayaking.

He can already see changes and an increase in confidence as he is there to “fully listen to his little buddy, talk about things in an open way in a safe environment and to share knowledge and provide mentorship where he can.” Plus they simply “have a lot of fun together” on their exploits and while planning ahead for future outings.

When I asked Trevor what he would say to others considering volunteering for this program, he responded: “there are quite a few little buddies who are looking for buddies and so many adults who could be buddies.” Whilst there is a lot of vetting, initiation days and training for the Buddy Programme, it’s worth it for the outcomes. The people involved are “from all walks of life, with the common thread of being positive-minded and wanting to put something back into the community, making it a great environment.”

In regards to volunteering more generally, his words of wisdom are: “you can change someone’s life with just 2-3 hours per week.”

Written by Susan Merriman, 2021

If you'd like to find out more about the Buddy Program, head to Presbytarian Support Otago's website: https://psotago.org.nz/