Celebrating National Volunteer Week

This week is National Volunteer Week, a celebration of the millions of people in Aotearoa who share their energy and skills with our communities. 

Volunteers contribute across every part of society – from marae to mosques, rural towns to urban hubs, crisis response to everyday acts of kindness. Volunteering strengthens the fabric of our communities, connecting individuals, whānau, and organisations across Aotearoa. 

Volunteers are essential to the success of arts, culture, creativity and nga toi Māori in Waikato. 

They are active both ‘on stage’ and behind the scenes. You will find them on the ground in the flaxroots, and serving in governance structures, running spaces and events, sharing knowledge and skills, and building relationships with local communities and businesses. They are the reason that our people are gathered together, local places are vibrant, activated and cared for, and iconic events light up our calendars. 

We can think about value through many different lenses. Volunteers in arts, culture and creativity create real value in our region, contributing significantly to our wellbeing, and building resilient and connected communities. 

While we do not have statistics for exactly how many volunteer hours go into arts, culture and creativity in Waikato, you do not have to travel far to find a community arts organisation that is humming thanks to many many volunteer hours. Many volunteers wear multiple hats in their communities too, giving to multiple kaupapa, and serve their communities over many years. 

The latest research from Stats New Zealand shows that: 

Volunteers in Aotearoa provide 231 million hours of formal volunteer labour annually.  At the living wage ($27.80/hour) this is valued at $6.4 billion annually

Source: Stats NZ 2023 General Social Survey, Wellbeing statistics update March 2025) 

And it is worth remembering that many people do not consider the time they give to their kaupapa as ‘volunteering’ but just a natural part of how they live and belong to their communities.

Recognising and investing in volunteers is key to building a strong, equitable, and thriving future for Aotearoa. It is important that we all support this kaupapa, and remind our leaders of the importance of volunteering for Waikato and Aotearoa.

One way we can do this is when we practice advocating for the contribution of volunteers in our communities. This can start with identifying what mahi they carry out- the specific ‘what they do’ then moving through to naming the outcomes and social impacts of this work. Things like: Creating a sense of place, belonging and civic pride. Building communities’ connection to the whenua. Growing people’s knowledge and providing opportunities to learn. 

(These outcomes are from Creative New Zealand’s document, Arts and Culture: part of your community’s future: Ngā Taonga Toi: ngā taonga pāpori āke āke, 2021)

This National Volunteer week, let’s celebrate the diversity of volunteers and the collective strength of mahi aroha and social action in our communities. This might look like personally thanking a volunteer that contributes to mahi that makes your life richer, putting a shout out online, or even just practicing identifying spaces and events that volunteers make possible. 

And, last but not least- a message to you if you are a person who volunteers in community (and we know that many many of you are!). 

Thank you for your mahi aroha. You help to make Waikato a more connected, creative and vibrant place to be. 

Ps. Are you a part of a group or organisation who works with volunteers? 

Check out Volunteering New Zealand’s website for handy resources to help you celebrate your volunteers and their impact:

Volunteering New Zealand
And we have some resources about working with volunteers available in our Audience Development Toolkits:

Audience Development Toolkits – Volunteers

With thanks to Volunteering New Zealand for their key messages resource, helping us to use shared language for this kaupapa.

Written by: Dr. Aimee Anderson-O’Connor, Creative Waikato team member

Big shout out to Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa for providing the image, photographed by Mark Hamilton.