Leonie Nickson who volunteers at the Rotorua Salvation Army Foodbank two days a week. She has done so since the Covid-19 lockdown.
Rotorua Salvation Army Foodbank relies on loyal volunteers to keep the doors of the vital service open.
One of those "wonderful" volunteers is Leonie Nickson.
Nickson has been part of the Salvation Army's Essential Services Team since the Covid-19 lockdown began in March, helping to put for parcels together andrestocking shelves.
She volunteers at the foodbank two days a week and also keeps the foodbank depot sanitised.
"I also re-bag bulk foods into smaller family-size packages," she said.
Nickson said she works part-time at the Salvation Army Family Store in Rotorua and before taking on this paid work, she volunteered at the store for two years.
Her role as the processing co-ordinator at the store entails sorting through donated items and helping to organise volunteers to get the items ready for sale on the shop floor.
She said since being asked by the Community Ministries Centre manager to help out at the foodbank during the lockdown, she has never looked back.
"The Salvation Army continued to pay my wages throughout the Covid-19 lockdown and I wanted to show my appreciation of that by helping at the foodbank for those in need.
"I really enjoy it and like knowing I'm helping to make a difference in our community."
Nickson said having enough food to eat was a basic need for all people.
"And knowing that even though the food doesn't come from me personally, I feel like my helping to collate parcels helps people in some way.
Leonie Nickson volunteers at the Rotorua Salvation Army Foodbank two days a week. Photo / Andrew Warner
"When I'm given the basic details like the size of the client's family and ages of their kids to help me work out what I need to put in a parcel, it gets quite personal for me. As you can't help but think about that family and the struggles they may be facing."
Nickson said being part of the Essential Services Team and helping people at a difficult time in their lives was "so rewarding".
Rotorua Salvation Army Community Ministries director Lieutenant Kylie Overbye said the army had a foodbank co-ordinator who oversaw a team of eight volunteers helping at the foodbank on a rostered basis.
Two more volunteers are also coming on board shortly to keep up with demand, she said.
"Volunteers are so important to our work. We wouldn't be able to function as well as we do without their support.
"When people come to us for some sort of help, our Community Ministries Social Support team's priority is to journey with clients to help guide them through and out of their challenging circumstances.
"Having volunteers to help to put food parcels together, restocking shelves and so on frees up our social workers' time to undertake the support work they do with the clients."
An example of what you might find in a Salvation Army Foodbank Christmas parcel. Photo / File
She said volunteers enabled the Salvation Army to run smoothly and they were valued members of the team.
"Leonie is a wonderful person. She is so generous in giving of her time to the work of the Salvation Army and her compassion for people.
"I think her compassion for people motivates her and she gives her all to her work to a very high standard. Our foodbank set up works very well thanks to Leonie's contribution."
Overbye said the Rotorua Salvation Army welcomed more volunteers.
"We appreciate that people give of their time to help give back to the community, and some people may only be able to do so for a short time. Any length of volunteer service people can offer us is appreciated."
This year, the Rotorua Daily Post's six-week appeal for the Salvation Army Foodbank aims to collect enough donated food to fill 200 parcels for those most in need this Christmas.
An example of what you might find in a Salvation Army Foodbank Christmas parcel. Photo / File
One of the highlights of the annual Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal is the Fill the Bus event, led by The Hits Rotorua with support from the Rotorua Daily Post.
This year's Fill the Bus will be held on December 2.
