Volunteer

Big ‘thumbs up’ for Nelson volunteers

The 2010 Trustpower Nelson Tasman Community Awards, which honour our hard-working, often-unsung volunteers were awarded on 5 July.

It was a brand new group that took the $1,500 top prize – Nelson student group SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) had an active first year that really impressed the judges:

  • Organised the first national observations of White Ribbon Day (an international movement of men standing up against violence towards women) in 2009 and 2010
  • Brought together nearly 150 young people from all over New Zealand for the first ever Young Leaders Conference on Violence
  • SAVE will represent the region at the national awards in March 2011, to be held in Western Bay of Plenty/Tauranga.

Nelson College for Girls Year 13 student Jemma Wastney received the ‘Trustpower Youth Community Spirit Award’ for her significant commitment to the community:

  • Working with the Nelson Ark programme, an animal shelter that provides at-risk youth with educational experience working with abandoned or abused dogs
  • SAVE Ambassador
  • Member of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD)
  • Mentoring a Year 9 student

Jemma receives a $500 award from Trustpower, half for herself and half to contribute to a local community group of her choice – in this case, the Nelson Ark.

Other Nelson awardees

Other Nelson volunteer groups that received awards include:

  • Nelson Tasman Housing Trust, Nelson City Overall winner
  • Lifeline Nelson, Health and Well Being winner
  • Stoke Social Seniors, Health and Well Being runner-up
  • Founders Heritage Park reception, Art & Culture winner
  • Magenta Creative Space Charitable Trust, Art & Culture runner-up
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters, Educational and Child/Youth Development winner
  • Q-Youth, Educational and Child/Youth Development runner-up
  • Saxton Field Sports Stadium Society, Sport and Leisure runner-up
  • Rotary Club of Nelson West, Heritage and Environment, commendation
  • Inspired Productions, Educational and Child/Youth Development, commendation
  • Fulton Hogan Basketball League, Sport and Leisure, commendation

Community volunteer opportunities

Have Fun at Founders

With many of Founders Heritage Park 's volunteers off on holiday, retiring, or moving, roster numbers are suddenly greatly reduced. If you have a free morning or afternoon every week or fortnight, you may enjoy taking a turn at being the Park's front-line host: greeting visitors, taking admissions, and making sales in the gift shop. Interested volunteers please call the staff at Founders today on +64 3 548 2649.

Isel House Needs You!

Stoke's stately home, Isel House, reopened in 2003 after a make-over that maintained the authentic Victorian look of the house while giving it a new role as a community exhibition space.

Now you can play your part in keeping this part of Nelson's history alive.

Over 11,000 people visited Isel House last year, all interested in the colonial history of the house, and attracted by the changing exhibitions. These have ranged from a touring show on 100 years of midwifery in New Zealand, to a textile exhibition by the local Spinners and Weavers Collective. Getting Isel House to this stage has taken hours of input, and now there is scope for more people to become part of the Isel family.

Best Seat in Town

Would you like to take your place in the 'best seat in town' in the Isel foyer? More people are needed on the roster to keep the house open daily. Volunteers give two and half hours of their time for a shift, but this can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly. The role is to greet people, give them information, tell them about the history of the house and answer questions. Full training is given, and there is a manual with information. Curator Sally Papps says it's an opportunity to meet people from all over the world: "We have people who range from garden lovers and heritage enthusiasts, to people with historical connections to the house or its namesake, Isel in Cumbria in the UK."

Functions are held a couple of times a year for all the volunteers to get together.

Good for the Soul

Now that John Douglas is retired he has time to 'put something back into the community'. John has been a volunteer at Broadgreen for the past five years, adding Isel House to his weekly routine as soon as it reopened.

He enjoys the peacefulness of Isel but says there is still plenty of opportunity to talk to visitors. "I'd encourage anyone who has the time, to give it a go," John says, "particularly anyone living alone. Once they take the first step they will find they have a very rewarding way to get out, meet people and find out more about Nelson's heritage."

Show your stuff

The exhibition programme at Isel House changes several times through the year. Sally Papps says there is scope for more groups to use the space: "We would love to host more exhibitions, displays and workshops. The historical context makes Isel a great place for a group to hold a retrospective, and staff are happy to help with displays."

Groups are eligible for a return on the door take, so with word of mouth networking, the hire cost can be reduced.

To find out more about getting involved with Isel House, call Sally Papps on +64 3 547 5222.