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About Volunteering New Zealand

Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) is an association of volunteer centres and national and other organisations with a commitment to volunteering.

Current member organisations cover emergency services, health, welfare, education, culture, faith based services, community support, ethnic groups, sport and recreation, conservation, special interests, advocacy and international volunteering.

The 16 Volunteer Centres are autonomous organisations working in their local communities. They join together to participate in a national network, and work collaboratively with VNZ to share knowledge and experience, and work on shared projects.

VNZ's mission is to create an environment which supports, promotes, values and encourages effective volunteering by the people of Aotearoa New Zealand. Its primary objective is to be the leader in 'all things' volunteering in Aotearoa New Zealand, and it aims to lead, promote and represent the volunteering movement in New Zealand.

The actions VNZ takes to achieve its objectives include:

  • Raising both an individual and collective interest in the value of volunteering, to create a well informed public and encourage and facilitate increased volunteering
  • Leading and/or playing a significant role in activities which ensure organisations develop and maintain best practice volunteer services. The Managers of Volunteers Programme is a key part of this work
  • Communicating and working with Government, Community and Voluntary Sector organisations, the business sector and individuals about issues related to volunteering and its development
  • Providing and/or promoting services such as educational programmes and volunteer recruitment through organised groups including Volunteer Centres, other national and regional organisations and government agencies
  • Supporting and/or undertaking robust research, and ensuring the dissemination of relevant information
  • Working with Maori, Pacific and Ethnic Communities to broaden the understanding and acknowledgment of different perspectives of how volunteering and community involvement takes place
  • Building a connected volunteering community through membership of VNZ
  • Representing New Zealand volunteering internationally

 

VNZ was established in August 2001 during the International Year of the Volunteer. Volunteer Centres and a number of national organisations had lobbied for the establishment of a national body for the volunteering movement, and the International Year of the Volunteer gave the reason for this to happen.

International Links

Volunteering New Zealand is the New Zealand Representative of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), the international organisation representing volunteering worldwide.