Gisborne Volunteer Centre (GVC) recruits, trains and finds suitable roles for hundreds of volunteers every year.
Reliant on grants and donations to operate they recently established an endowment fund at Sunrise which they hope will help them build a more sustainable business and reduce their reliance on annual funding applications.
Michelle Whitley, GVC Chair, says “even though up until now we have been fortunate to have great support from funders, we have noticed that grants from gaming trusts are getting harder to access as machines are disappearing. We want to build up our own endowment fund to give us some security and reliability of funding in the future”.
GVC Centre Manager, Jenny Greaves, says volunteering impacts on the social, economic and cultural outcomes of a community.
“Volunteering can help people who may be socially isolated, it contributes to well-being, increases self-esteem and confidence and helps improve employability skills and opportunities. There are also positive economic outcomes from providing a free workforce that is not motivated by financial gain and who give their time and skills freely to the community.”
Jenny added that “people are volunteering in a different way than before. Social media has had a big impact and there is now greater awareness amongst the youth of today about volunteering and giving.”
“We work collaboratively with organisations to identify and improve volunteering opportunities. We seek the best outcomes for people so they can volunteer in fulfilling roles that they enjoy.”
Janine Hamilton-Kells, GVC Marketing Manager, says “recruiting and referral is only one part of what GVC does. We don’t just work with volunteers, we also support and educate the organisations that use them so they can manage their volunteers well and get the best benefits for both the organisation and volunteer.”
”We run networking events, celebrate and recognise the contribution volunteers make to Tairawhiti-Gisborne at our Volunteers Awards Ceremonies and do lots of promotional work to engage more people in the volunteer community.”
Any donation to the Gisborne Volunteer Centre Endowment Fund will be invested, protected and grown each year in line with inflation. The surplus investment income will be granted back to Gisborne Volunteer Centre every year, meaning your donation will keep supporting them forever.