CELEBRATING NATIONAL

VOLUNTEER WEEK 18-24 JUNE

We are lucky to live in such a great District where so many individuals and organisations voluntarily give their time to the community.

Council would like to acknowledge your contribution to making Waimakariri such a great place to live.

To all the foodbank volunteers, community drivers, committee members, emergency services, fundraisers, environment champions, coaches and more – thank you!

Giving your time and skills to help others can be a real boost to your personal wellbeing.

The Volunteer Directory on council website lists many local groups and projects that would appreciate more volunteers.

Find out more at waimakariri.govt.nz/ community/community-information

The purpose of the OB&I League is "To raise funds to assist and to contribute to benevolence generally”. They raise funds through the running of movies at the Oxford Town Hall for the benefit of the community.

Alice has been volunteering for the OB&I League for around 7 years. She is Secretary which involves administrative tasks, but along with this she also attends the movies regularly to assist with the set up of the venue, ticket selling, greeting patrons and cleaning up at the end of the movies. Alice says “I have met some amazing local people through my volunteering with OB&I League, and I love movies. It is hugely satisfying to be part of an organisation giving the opportunity of viewing movies locally.” www.oxfordmovies.nz

Oxford Senior Citizens hold monthly meetings for the purpose of entertainment, fellowship and outings. It is open to retired people within the Oxford ward and other members at the discretion of the committee.

Jan has been a member of OSC for 5 years, and is in her second year in the role of Secretary. She says “At our meetings we try to have entertainers or speakers of interest for us. We also do outings during the year and have a mid year luncheon and a Christmas dinner. If you would like to get involved, subs are $10 a year and new members are welcome anytime. Meetings are held second Wednesday of the month. For more information you can contact the President, Sarah on 027 7557196.

Waimakariri District Council recognises the huge contribution by not-for-profit groups and organisations in providing so many services and activities in our district. The vast majority of these groups rely on volunteers to function. Volunteers who are passionate about the work of an organisation often find they need to fill governance roles, but may not necessarily have those skills. The Council Community team provides workshops on many topics of value for volunteers to upskill, such as funding, health and safety and communication plans. They can also provide assistance to groups with strategic planning or reviewing their governance structure. For more information on these workshops or for any assistance, you can contact Wendy Howe Community Development Facilitator at wendy.howe@wmk.govt.nz, or 032669151 .

If you are interested in finding a way to get involved and become a volunteer in Oxford, please feel free to pop into the Oxford Community Trust, and they can have a chat about some of the options that are out there in the community for you. They are based at 37 Main Street, or you can call them on 312 3006.