Do you want to support your community, but you don’t know where to start?

Volunteering Northland connects you to hundreds of organisations and community groups all over Te Tai Tokerau, Northland, that would be glad to have your help.

Volunteer work, or mahi aroha, is done out of one’s own free will, unpaid and for the common good. It fulfills an important role in our communities – without it, many essential services would struggle. Volunteers come from many backgrounds and with all levels of skills and abilities. Whether you have one free hour a day, week, or month, there's a volunteer opportunity for you.

Voluntering is great for the soul, but it can also help you:

• Improve self-esteem and confidence.
• Gain a sense of achievement and satisfaction.
• Gain a sense of inclusion within the community.
• Establish new friendships with people of similar interests.
• Explore new challenges and interests.
• Use personal skills in a new setting, gain recognition for your abilities.
• Learn new skills and get experience.
• Work for a cause that affects you personally.
• Develop patience and compassion.
• Increase knowledge of current issues faced in your community.

Think about why you would like to volunteer as this will help to guide your volunteer choices. What would you like to achieve? Who would you like to help? What will you get out of it?

Check out our list of available volunteer opportunities. Browse by type of role, location and hours.

Register your interest. If you find a role that interests you, complete the application form at the bottom of the role description and you'll hear back from us about how to proceed. There is no obligation at this stage - it's simply an opportunity to find out more about the role and and how to get started.

Can’t find anything you would like to do? Get in touch with us directly! We might just have the right position for you that’s not advertised yet.

Are you new to volunteering or unsure about something? If you would like an individual consultation to discuss your situation we are happpy to meet with you. Give us a call to arrange an appointment or to have a chat on (09) 945 4984 / 0800 865 268.

To maximise the quality of my experience as a volunteer, I will:

• Recognise my own motives for being a volunteer and ensure the organisation is aware of these.
• Seek work opportunities appropriate to my skills, interests and aspirations.
• Be committed to giving high quality service.
• Consider opportunities for job training and personal development.
• Carry out all work I agree to do responsibly and ethically.
• Speak out about any concerns that might affect my work relationships or quality of service.
• See myself as a valued team member with the right to contribute to decisions which affect my work.
• Value and support other team members.

It is important to Volunteering Northland that all of the volunteers we work with or refer have a safe and enjoyable experience whilst undertaking their voluntary roles.

If you are a volunteer, you must take reasonable care of your own safety and take care not to do anything which could harm another person. You should follow all reasonable safety instructions given to you when you are volunteering at an organisation, so that they can comply with their Health and Safety obligations.

When you volunteer, you have the same health and safety duties as paid staff. In addition to the duties above you must also co-operate with any reasonable health and safety policy or procedure of the organisation you are volunteering at.

Reasonable care means that you should do what a reasonable person would do in the same circumstances. This is for you to determine. Consider the skills and knowledge you have, what the risks and outcomes are and the resources you have available.

Some steps you can take include:

• Do only tasks that have been assigned to you.
• Do only tasks that you have been trained to do or are familiar with.
• Don't do tasks that you think are unsafe.
• Report new hazards and risks to the organisation you are volunteering at.
• Be familiar with the organisation’s health and safety policies and rules.
• Provide feedback on health and safety issues.
• Use any personal protection equipment that is provided, store and maintain it as instructed.
• Participate in health monitoring programmes.
• Report any serious harm incident to the organisation you are volunteering for immediately. if you are in doubt, please report

For any enquiries, contact Volunteering Northland at info@volunteeringnorthland.nzor phone 09-9454984

For more information about Health and Safety in regards to volunteering, you can download the Work Safe New Zealand 'Information for Volunteers' fact sheet