Volunteer Nelson

Big thank you to Nelson Weekly and Waimea Weekly at TSM for their continued support recognising volunteers and celebrating volunteering in Nelson Tasman each year during - in the way of a double-page spread in our local weekly papers. Over 60% of Nelson Tasman residents volunteer and our region would not function effectively without them. Nelson Mayor Hon Dr Nick Smith who helped fund - and spoke at - our Mayor's Morning Tea for Volunteers earlier this week, said at the event that if you count up all the volunteer hours and calculated it at minimum wage rate, it would add up to $181 million $ value to our community. He added that if every volunteer went home, and the council had to cover the work they do and the efforts they put in, the council would have to put the rates up by 158%.

🥰So, thank you again to all volunteers for the tremendous selfless effort you put in (no matter how big or how small), and also to all those people, media and organisations helping cheer on our volunteers and spread the word about the work they and our community organisations are doing in our community. Every little bit counts - even neighbours offering to make a cup of tea, get groceries, walk a dog, etc. Your support has a ripple effect and we would not be the connected community without you!

Read the Top South Media article here if the photo is too small! (It's the centre spread, page 16 and 17 of the 17 June 2026 issue.)
https://www.topsouthnow.co.nz/editions/672f6a80-5d8b-46fd-9990-8c233cb9ea69

Thank you for visiting us yesterday, Blair Cameron for Nelson Tasman and Erica, and for sharing kai with us at Volunteer Nelson and volunteers at Habitat for Humanity Nelson and The Buzz Nelson. We appreciated your questions about the volunteer sector, what the challenges are for 1000s of volunteers and the 100s of community focused organisations they serve, and about the programmes we are running with support from funders to connect our Nelson Tasman community - Seek Volunteer (recruitment), Volunteer Drop-In information sessions at our local libraries, the Wellby Talking Cafes across Nelson Tasman and the FOUND directory (for social and community connection and wellbeing) and our youth programme, Rangatahi in the Community for youth aged 16-24. We appreciate you and all those in our community helping to spread the word!

It’s National Volunteer Week!! So I popped in to Volunteer Nelson to drop off some morning tea and have a chat with Danielle, Gordon, Sarge (the office Labrador!), and Lindsay. The Volunteer Nelson team do great work connecting people with opportunities to volunteer, and supporting the organisations that rely on volunteers every week. If you want to find out about more volunteer opportunities in our community, the team is hosting drop in sessions at Nelson Libraries, check out their page for details.

One of the things I love about Nelson Tasman is how many people give their time to help others. Whether it is through sport, charity, community groups, conservation, events, emergency services, or just helping out where help is needed, our region runs on volunteers. A huge thank you to the awesome team at Coffee On Queen Richmond for providing the morning tea, we shared it with some of the volunteers at Habitat Hub Tāhunanui to recognise the important work they and all volunteers do.

To everyone who volunteers across Nelson Tasman, thank you. You make our community a much better place.