Whānau Āwhina Plunket thanks volunteers for year of giving time and skills

Rotorua Plunket nurse April Aitken (left) and clinical leader Alison Craig at the thank-you morning tea. Photo / Mead Norton

There was singing, the strumming of a guitar, lots of chatter, and a special atmosphere as Whānau Āwhina Plunket gathered with its various volunteers to celebrate and thank them for their time and generosity.

The thank-you morning tea was held at Rotorua Baptist Church on Tuesday.

The Plunket Society started its work in 1907. Whānau Āwhina Plunket clinical leader Alison Craig said times back then were tough for many and there was not the medical knowledge we have now.

“Fast forward to now, 2022, 115 years later, and times are still tough for many.”

She said in the early days of Plunket it relied hugely on volunteers, but this pool of people grew smaller and smaller when women started joining the workforce more.

Alison said their centre was hugely grateful to the many in the Rotorua community that supported their mahi.

During her speech at the morning tea, she thanked the volunteers who help out in many ways.

These included Rotary Club of Rotorua, which has made 80 woollen cot blankets and donated children’s books (two Parksyde embroiderers joined in the blanket-making); Quota donating car seats, breastfeeding chairs and a dishwasher for the local Plunket’s new building; Busy Bee Charity Knitters; Lynmore Rise Knitters; Wacky Warm-Ups; Deb Bell and her sister Claire, who is a knitter, from Sunrise Rotary; Alan Neil, who has been a volunteer gardener for about 25 years; Lara Kenny from St Barnabas Op Shop in Ngongotahā, who donates whatever Plunket may need for families, such as clothes; Blankets With Love; and the Rural Women of NZ Rotorua branch knitting group.

Alison said: “We can’t thank you all enough, we are amazed by it. Thank you very much.”

Plunket works within the the Well Child Tamariki Ora framework to deliver healthcare to the tamariki of Aotearoa. About 85 per cent of pepi born in Aotearoa are referred to Plunket by midwives after these families have requested the service.

Alison said: “We are a universal service, but in our work to address inequity we prioritise Māori and Pasifika clients”.

Whānau Āwhina Plunket’s staff is made up of registered nurses who have completed further post-graduate certificates, and health workers, Kaiāwhina and Karitane who have completed a National Certificate Tamariki Ora.

Alison says her team are an amazing group of nurses and health workers who support so many families in Rotorua.

“They are caring, skilled, non-judgemental and thoroughly professional in their work.”

“The visits are client-led, individualised care, working towards goal setting with the whole whānau. Within the visit, the nurses complete physical and developmental checks on tamariki,” she said. Nurses may also refer to other services if needed.

Just some of the framework’s key performance indicators include smoke-free facilitation, breastfeeding, immunisation, maternal mental health and hearing and vision.

“Our service is offered in a variety of ways - open clinics, booked clinics, home visits or visits to Kōhanga and child care. We offer parenting courses and the 24-hour Plunketline service.”

Rotorua Baptist Church pastor Wendy Budge said they had been delighted to host this event for such a great asset to the community.

“We do a preschool programme called The Living Room for young families, and Plunket had been really supportive of that.”