Newbie has big shoes to fill
Volunteering New Plymouth (VNP) has a new co-ordinator at its helm, and new digs too.
Marie Riordan officially took over the post February 13 from Heather Dodunski who sets off to new horizons on the Kapiti Coast after steering the VNP ship for more than a decade.
‘‘I know I have enormous shoes to fill, and I know my shoe size is different to Heather’s, so I will be travelling the same journey in a different way,’’ Riordan said.
For the newbie, it was not all new territory. Riordan was born and bred in Taranaki and already has a strong foothold in the community’s volunteer sector.
She was involved with various charitable organisations that included the Taranaki Employment and Support Foundation Trust as a trustee and deputy chair for the past 16 years.
Riordan came to VNP after working for 23 years at the U-Turn Community Training Service where she helped unemployed people transition to employment or return to the workforce.
‘‘It’s an exciting transition for me to be working with volunteers within the community.’’
Riordan said she had plenty of fresh ideas to complement existing VNP programmes. Her tack was to introduce new things gradually, not to go in with all guns blazing.
She aimed to cement relationships while finding her feet. Once she found them one of her major focuses would be to expand the service’s online presence.
VNP has promoted volunteers and volunteering within the community since 2002. It acts as a contact point for the recruitment and training of volunteers.
In mid-January the organisation moved from the King’s Building to new premises on level four of the Devon Centre on Liardet St.
VNP shares the new, lighter, brighter space with two other trusts under the Taranaki Employment Support Foundation Trust umbrella; Taranaki Computer Access Centre, and Dress for Success.
The trust’s chairwoman Elaine Gill said it was important to find premises where the three could continue to work closely together.‘‘They can move easily between each office using the different services,’’ Gill said.
An open day for people to come and check out the new digs and meet her was a top priority.