Volunteers have positive impact on communities
On December 17 1985, the United Nations General Assembly resolved that an International Volunteer Day would be celebrated annually on December 5. Mahi Aroha is a huge part of what we do here across Aotearoa New Zealand on a daily basis; here's what it looks like globally:
• The monthly number of volunteers aged 15 years and over amounts to 862.4 million worldwide.
• Most volunteer work continues to be arranged informally between individuals, with 14.3% of the global population participating, while 6.5% of working-age people worldwide engage in formal volunteering via an organisation or association. A significant percentage of people do multiple types of volunteer work.
• While formal volunteers are mostly men, informal volunteers are more likely to be women. 2023 has been a big year for Volunteering Canterbury, proudly celebrating 35 years of supporting volunteers and those who support them; volunteer managers and coordinators. Volunteering continues to be a large part of what we do as Kiwis across Aotearoa New Zealand and this year we showcased some of that volunteering by working alongside talented second-year students from the New Zealand Broadcasting School based at Ara.
The team produced video and audio clips which capture the diversity of volunteering across the region, from faith-based to sports fields, animals to food packing, on land and across amazing Whakaraupō; a celebration of meaningful mahi.
If Everyone Did: What do you want your community to look like?
“If Everyone Did” is this year’s inspiring theme for International Volunteer Day from UN Volunteers that centres on the power of everyone to make the world a better place.
In Aotearoa New Zealand those of us over 18 years old have an opportunity to vote for what they want their community to look like, every three years.
Why wait three years, though? Through volunteering you can make an impact on the community any day of the year, every year. In the past month over 50 per cent of New Zealanders have volunteered and the latest State of Volunteering Regional Report produced by Tuao Aotearoa Volunteering New Zealand reveals that volunteers feel their volunteer mahi is having a positive impact on their communities.
Making time
Research confirms that the main reason given by people in the Canterbury region for not volunteering is a lack of time. Volunteering Canterbury’s Group Volunteering Programme is here to help. Getting a group of friends or colleagues together to make their mahi have meaning in the community fits well with the Five Ways of Wellbeing : connect, be active, take notice, keep learning, and give.
After a challenging couple of years with Covid-related lockdowns and absenteeism, we are delighted to report that in 2023, over 3,200 hours have been gifted through Volunteering Canterbury’s Group Volunteering Programme alone; nearly 900 people completed just over 60 projects which supported more than 20 community organisations.
Volunteering Canterbury celebrates 35 years of supporting volunteer engagement across the region