Whangārei students donate their time in celebration of National Volunteer Week

Whangārei Boys' High School students in the Hospice Processing Centre sort donated goods, (from left) Brandon Peck and Benjamin Foon, both 17, deputy head boys, and Caleb Squires,17, and Max Robertson,18 , house captains. Photo / Tania Whyte

More than 40 students volunteered their time to the Whangārei North Haven Hospice store on Monday in celebration of New Zealand's National Volunteer Week.

The students from Whangārei Girls' High School and Whangārei Boys' High School spent the afternoon sorting donations, cleaning and pricing them, and arranging them in store, ready to sell.

With art teacher Ashleigh Zimmerman, junior Whangārei Girls' High students decorated the footpaths along Robert and James Streets with a brightly coloured chalk mural.

The mural expressed why these students believe volunteering in the community is so important.

Whangārei Girls' High School students create a volunteering-themed chalk art mural on the footpath outside the North Haven Hospice Shop. Emmie Ferguson and Petiwaea Thompson, both 13, start their mural with Amber Stephens,13, Amia Ringrose,14, Anya Miller,13, and Maria Cullen,13, at the back. Photo / Tania Whyte

Boys' High students are regular "pop-in" volunteers at the Hospice shop and have been for a year, volunteering every second Tuesday.

Recently, Girls' High students have also started volunteering at the Hospice store more often.

The Boys' High volunteers are now challenging Kamo High and Tikipunga High students to volunteer at the store and make as much money as they have in an afternoon.

Jane Scripps, manager of Volunteer and Hospitality Services, says the boys are leaving a legacy.

She said they were now encouraging younger students seeking leadership positions to put some time into contributing to the community and volunteering.

North Haven Hospice has 400 volunteers, 300 of these work in the Whangārei or Waipū Hospice stores.

The other 120 rostered volunteers are based at the Tikipunga IPU base, caring for people at their own homes or in the stay-in facility.

The gap between the District Health Board funding and the cost of running the Hospice caring service is $1.9 million each year.

Each week, Hospice must fundraise $36,000 to fill this gap.