Dame Susan Devoy: a means of giving back

We have some truly remarkable people in our community.
They make a wonderful contribution and all without any expectation of reward or recognition - just a deep-centred commitment to their cause or interest.
In the past month, I have attended two TrustPower Community Volunteer Awards recognising the communities of Western Bay of Plenty, and this week, the local volunteers grouped within Tauranga city.
Like me, I bet you didn't know that virtually all the trees at McLaren Falls were planted entirely by volunteers. In fact, these awards showcase a wide variety of organisations and services. I often wonder what is the motivator for individuals becoming involved with various groups.
Naturally there will often be an obvious connection for many, particularly if family members have been ill or needed organisations which have offered support and/or services to make their lives easier at difficult times.
Getting involved is a way of giving back, or even finding a way to improve things or even filling a void. Trish Rae, from the Waipuna Hospice, told the audience that volunteers accounted for 30 per cent of the services that hospice provides.
These local awards are enlightening, a wonderful snapshot of the people involved and the groups they represent. Even though there are category winners on the evening, there is no sense of competition. All the nominees generously acknowledge each other and are always humble in the receipt of their award.
The sharing of their challenges, the rewards and experience of volunteering, are often the same regardless of whether they are involved in the arts, the environment or the community.
Recruiting volunteers and fundraising - the cornerstones of these organisations - is a hard slog these days. The recession and the Christchurch earthquake have added to the pressures organisations face in securing enough funding to survive.
So many become so exhausted in the fight for survival and often they are so busy raising money they are unable to focus on their core business or simply don't survive.
Just a couple of days after the TrustPower Community Awards, TECT (the Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust) hosted a function to acknowledge the recipients of their last round of grants. There were a lot of familiar faces.
As is always the case, people are overwhelmingly grateful both to the trustees and the staff who guide them through what could be described as a rather onerous process of form filling. The different funding schemes allow for virtually any grant to be taken into consideration so long as you are a TrustPower customer.
People sometimes don't realise that TECT is a consumer trust as opposed to a charitable trust, and therefore is required to distribute funds that directly benefit the consumers in the Western Bay of Plenty.
The subsidy scheme is popular whereby we fund up to half of the costs of electrical equipment.
There is the obvious correlation between TECT and TrustPower.
This scheme is invaluable to schools in developing their ICT units and the ability to provide computers for all children to access. Coincidentally, at this time of year there appear to be a lot heat pumps being funded.
The grants range from hundreds to hundreds of thousands, and everyone is profuse in their gratitude and keen to remind us they will be back.
The brave or cheeky make mention of the distribution criteria. Currently TECT returns 80 per cent directly back to the consumer via cheque distribution, and the remaining 20 per cent is distributed through the various funding schemes.
A couple of years back, a consumer referendum was held and the response to retain the status quo was overwhelming; however, consumers didn't get the opportunity to consider whether they would like more distributed back into the community.
Volunteers are the building blocks of our communities. It is a work force that needs to be nurtured and rewarded.
As the chairman of TECT, Michael Cooney said the evening was not about having to thank TECT. It really was about trustees meeting the groups who are recipients and importantly expressing our gratitude for the fabulous work you do in our community.
And if you are really stuck for something to do this week, then the TECT annual meeting is at 5.30pm on Thursday at the Mount Club.