STUDENT VOLUNTEERS

A student group that formed in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes has again stepped up, delivering groceries to the needy across the country.

As the country went into lockdown, the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) sprang into action. Together, SVA launched a nationwide response, delivering groceries to the elderly, healthcare workers, medically vulnerable and single parents.

“The idea came from looking at the needs of the community and seeing where there were gaps and where people were struggling,” says Isabella Fanselow, president of SVA. “As a group that is able to mobilise a lot of people, but a lot of people who aren’t necessarily highly skilled or highly trained people, this is an area that really suited the type of work we were able to do.”

This isn’t the first crisis the SVA has responded to. The group was founded in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes and now has over 2,000 volunteers on board. The scale of the COVID-19 crisis meant SVA had to ramp up their efforts to a new level. “There have been challenges mobilising nationwide because that’s not something we’ve done before. But we’ve built a really robust system and it’s going really well,” says Fanselow. Partnering with New World, Hyundai New Zealand, Z Energy NZ and Go Media, SVA has helped deliver groceries The response to people from the across community the country. has been huge, with people showing their appreciation in creative ways. “One of our favourite things is that people write notes and leave them at their door or in their window,” says Fanselow. One volunteer even received a hand-felted heart with the letters ‘SVA’ stitched across it. “Hearing those successes where people who were really in need and we were able to fill that need and hearing how grateful they are makes it all worth it.”