Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Locals 'dared' to show why Whanganui is volunteer capital of New Zealand

Zaryd Wilson
By Zaryd Wilson
Editor - Whanganui Chronicle ·Whanganui Chronicle·
5 Nov, 2018 06:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Christina Emery says volunteering has always been on her to do list. Photos/ Bevan Conley

Christina Emery says volunteering has always been on her to do list. Photos/ Bevan Conley

Far more than simply giving up time for a worthy cause, volunteering is a two-way street, Sandra Rickey says.

Monday is International Volunteer Managers Day and for four years the Volunteer Whanganui manager has used that as an opportunity to "dare" prominent locals to volunteer for a few hours.

Rickey said "I Dare You" was about promoting volunteering and showing the benefits it had for the volunteer as well as the organisation.

"It gives people a sense of purpose for a day and a direction. It also looks good on a CV and they're also out there meeting people," she said.

Former councillor Sue Westwood was on deck at Volunteer Whanganui HQ writing Christmas cards which will go out to the organisation's 957 volunteers later this year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Westwood said being retired gave her time and "if I've got skills they can use I only have to be asked".

Whanganui had a sense of community which encouraged people to get out and volunteer, she said.

Meanwhile, MediaWorks sales manager Christina Emery spent a couple of hours as a retail assistant at the City Mission's Zest shop.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I don't ever have time to volunteer but it's always on my to do list," she said.

Sue Westwood spent two hours writing Christmas cards to volunteers. Photo/ Bevan Conley
Sue Westwood spent two hours writing Christmas cards to volunteers. Photo/ Bevan Conley

"I'm on the boards of a couple of not-for-profit associations and you do realise how much volunteers are needed when you're in that position."

Emery's tasks included preparing goods to go out into the shop.

"Now I'm cleaning Thomas [the Tank Engine]. These all need to be cleaned for they can go out on the shelves; anything from Thomas, to plates to cups."

Discover more

Generous community support for food bank

23 Oct 07:00 PM

Whanganui principal drenched for good cause

29 Oct 05:00 PM
New Zealand

Rubbish dumping forces Koha Shed closure

29 Oct 06:00 PM

'Unwanted' dogs find new homes - more adoptions likely

29 Oct 04:00 AM

Others Rickey has roped in to volunteer for a few hours this week include Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall and Whanganui District Health Board chief executive Russell Simpson.

"It's all about raising awareness of what a volunteer does," she said.

"The whole point was daring people of importance to walk in the shoes of a volunteer for a couple of hours.

"They can sell the idea that volunteering can be done by anyone."

Volunteer Whanganui manager Sandra Rickey has seen the number of volunteers in the city swell in recent years. Photo/ Bevan Conley
Volunteer Whanganui manager Sandra Rickey has seen the number of volunteers in the city swell in recent years. Photo/ Bevan Conley

Rickey said volunteer work quite different to paid work.

"A chief executive of a bank would have very little understanding about the community sector.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"What really drives the community sector is volunteers and without them organisations wouldn't survive. It's simple."

Volunteer Whanganui supports 105 organisations and, with 957 volunteers on the books, has the highest per capita volunteer base in the country.

Rickey said volunteers get as much back as they put in and the mutual benefits are now more recognised.

"One of the trends we've had recently is that we've had a lot of Aucklanders (who have moved to Whanganui) volunteering and signing up because they don't know Whanganui yet and they want to meet their community."

Rickey said volunteering brought out the best in people.

"Human beings are social creatures, we're supposed to be around people."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Volunteer Whanganui oversees more than 100 organisations.
Volunteer Whanganui oversees more than 100 organisations.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Brazen hammer heist: Police hunt jewel thief, staff distressed after store raid

05 Jul 05:11 AM
Whanganui Chronicle

Kāinga Ora needs to be ‘responsive to need’, says minister

04 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

'He's just scared of me': Teen's Māori wards challenge to PM

06 Jul 03:55 AM

Chris Hipkins agreed to meet him in Wellington after the Prime Minister said 'no'.

Brazen hammer heist: Police hunt jewel thief, staff distressed after store raid

Brazen hammer heist: Police hunt jewel thief, staff distressed after store raid

05 Jul 05:11 AM
Kāinga Ora needs to be ‘responsive to need’, says minister

Kāinga Ora needs to be ‘responsive to need’, says minister

04 Jul 06:00 PM
Work begins on key phase of port project

Work begins on key phase of port project

04 Jul 06:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP