Neighbourhood Support Volunteers Celebrated
30 June 2024 – New Zealand – To wrap up 'Get Involved' month, we'd like to acknowledge just a few of the amazing NS volunteers who were celebrated across the country this month as part of #NationalVolunteerWeek.
We asked our coordinators to nominate volunteers who go above and beyond through their passion and commitment to their local Neighbourhood Support community. We selected one nominee per week in June to give a special shout out to and send an acknowledgement thank-you gift for their contributions on behalf of NSNZ.
Our first volunteer was Lois from Selwyn, nominated by our coordinator Sue Jenkins.
Here’s what Sue had to say about Lois:
“Lois has been a member of the local Lincoln Community Response Team (CRT) for the last 10 years and very active in supporting her community in all sorts of other roles, on a regular basis. She is also always there helping when the CRT responds to emergency events. She has helped open and run evacuation centers for people impacted by flooding and wildfires on several occasions.
She attends every CRT monthly meeting and recently came up with an initiative to promote joining our Neighbourhood Support data base (Selwyn Gets Ready) to her community by holding Saturday morning promotional events outside local coffee shops. On 2 consecutive Saturday mornings she had over 50 new households sign up to our NS database. Lois works tirelessly for her local community.”
Our week two volunteers were Grant & Pam from Te Awamutu, nominated by Mandy Merson from CommSafe.
Here’s what Mandy had to say about Grant & Pam:
"Grant & Pam are farmers in a rural community that have been proactive against crime in their area. They have a First Aid team in the community which includes an AED unit that is kept where all the neighbours have access to it if required. They volunteer all over the community, including monitoring an area of DOC land.
Together they run their own database that connects local residents. The local community receives the regular CommSafe newsletter this way. This includes the School and the rural residents that live around them.
Grant & Pam are connected with the local Police and CommSafe. If they have knowledge of crime in the area, they will have eyes all over the community. They keep their contact list updated and support others in the community if they need a hand. This duo are so important to this rural community, and maintain a resilient community around them."
Our week three volunteer was David from Taupo, nominated by coordinator Alivia Roberts.
Here’s what Alivia had to say about David:
"I had planned to nominate David already, and when members of his NS street group also reached out to nominate him, I knew I had made the right choice!
David is a Street Coordinator for Neighbourhood Support Williams Street. David keeps an eye on everyone's properties while working in his garage and makes a point to greet neighbours as they come and go from their properties. He has been active in creating a neighbourhood fishing club, organising fishing trips and as a street group they pool funds to make annual donations to local charities. As well as hosting street parties at his home, David goes above and beyond the normal duties of a street group coordinator, driving people to appointments at Rotorua Hospital (an hour or so away) and has delivered library books to those stuck at home.
He was a fisheries officer for many years and has helped out with numerous other charities in the community as well as Neighbourhood Support.
David is an iconic personality in Williams Street and an all round community champion. He really deserves to be recognised on a national level for his dedication to Neighbourhood Support and contributing to Williams Street being such a safe and connected place to live, not to mention, it's been voted Taupo's 'best street'!"
Our week four volunteer was Shirley from Taranaki, nominated by coordinator Di Gleeson.
Here’s what Di had to say about Shirley:
"Shirley is one amazing lady, she lives in Kaponga, Taranaki and for over 10 years she has been personally visiting everyone who moves into the small rural town to sign them up to be part of the Kaponga NHS group. This isn't a small feat for Shirley, she suffered from Polio as a child and unfortunately lost both her legs and is confined to a wheel chair. She doesn't drive so all her volunteer work for the community is completed in her wheel chair. Shirley has just given up this community role in June due to her health deteriorating."
- Thank you Lois, David, Shirley, Grant and Pam, plus all of our thousands of volunteers across the country for all your hard work and selfless contributions to ensure Neighbourhood Support continues to thrive in your community!
ENDS
About Neighbourhood Support New Zealand
Neighbourhood Support is a nationwide community led movement that brings people and neighbourhoods together to create safe, resilient, and connected communities. Over 220,000 households are part of our growing network. Neighbourhood Support work alongside NZ Police and other partners to equip neighbourhoods to improve safety, be prepared for emergencies and support one another so that our communities are great places to live.
Address (appointment only)
C/O Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street
Thorndon, Wellington, 6011
New Zealand
Email - info@neighbourhoodsupport.co.nz
Phone - 0800 4 NEIGHBOURS (0800 463 444)
Twitter - https://twitter.com/nsnewzealand