Young volunteers play key role in youth week celebrations

Young volunteers play key role in youth week celebrations
Story by Janine Duncan

A group of enterprising and enthusiastic young people from Volunteering Northland’s Whangārei Youth Action Group co-led the planning, organisation and management of two major events as part of National Youth Week.

‘Many of our taiohi, our youth, are extremely motivated to contribute to their community through project focused initiatives, but may not have the necessary experience to stage major events by themselves’, says Verena Pschorn, Volunteering Northland’s Community Connections Co-ordinator and facilitator of the group. In response, Volunteering Northland’s Whangārei Youth Action Group was established in late 2023 and was made possible through generous funding from the Northland Community Foundation for a Youth Project. This enabled connection with Inspiring Stories, the Whangarei District Council’s Youth Advisory Group (YAG), and existing youth contacts to conduct a pilot study on ways to engage young people to work effectively in their community.

The Whangārei Youth Action Group has six highly motivated young core members, of which three are also part of YAG. They meet regularly to generate ideas for purpose orientated events and projects that benefit the Whangārei community and then plan, organise and manage them with Verena’s guidance and support. ‘Seeing our ideas happen and our friends and community being so happy because of our work is extremely rewarding and important to me’ says Jodie Rameka, YAG Chairperson and member of the Whangārei Youth Action group. ‘I love Whangārei and want to make the town a better, more welcoming place for all young people.’

The forum also provides opportunity for collaboration, connection and socialisation with like-minded peers outside of school hours and the opportunity for untapped skills and potential to be nurtured and developed in a friendly supportive environment.

The theme of this year’s Youth Week was ‘Māwherangi a tama roto ka taka, kāpuia ake ka pūrangiaho’ – ‘We may not have it all together, but together we have it all’. To celebrate young people, the Whangārei Youth Action Group came up with the concept for and assisted with the planning and organising of the inaugural Amazing Youth Volunteer Race. Held on the 20th of May, 30 individuals comprising eight teams braved the wet weather conditions to race around the Whangarei CBD for up to two hours while competing for prizes and completing micro volunteering activities. The goal was to have fun alongside their peers while connecting with and assisting local organisations. Despite the rain, the feedback was great, and organisations and youth alike expressed their interest in taking part in the next event in summer.

As a finale to Youth Week, the Whangārei Youth Action group organised the very popular Puāwei Youth Wellbeing Festival. The free event brought over 200 visitors to Whangārei Boys High School and invited 13 – 24-year-olds to have fun in an inclusive environment with a strong emphasis on mental and physical wellbeing. Plenty of food, market stalls, activities, and entertainment were provided to ensure a vibrant atmosphere. Additionally, approximately 20 organisations specialising in youth wellbeing, education, training and employment opportunities attended, providing information on ways youth can access help and support.

Overall, the Whangārei Youth Action Group dedicated more than 300 hours helping to organise these events, demonstrating their enthusiasm and commitment to their community. However, Youth Week was just the beginning. ‘We helped with several Volunteer Week events like the Volunteer Awards and the Volunteer Fair, and the big Light & Lantern Community Parade for Matariki’, announces Jodie. ‘Our latest project was the Festival for the Future in Wellington, where we got to meet other young leaders from all across Aotearoa, to learn from each other and share ideas. We are so excited! This will really take our work to the next level, and we already have plans for the coming few months.’

Verena has high praise for these young people. ’They bring this amazing energy, they are really creative and it is really cool to see them with their positive attitude. I am so impressed by what they want to do and what they can do if they want to.’

If you want to know more about the Whangārei Youth Action Group or want to join, you can either call or email Verena on 027 607 3711 or verena@volunteeringnorthland.nz, or fill out the expression of interest form here: https://forms.office.com/r/EnPynY9X1a. Follow the group’s adventures for a better Whangārei on Instagram @whangareiyouthaction.