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Volunteer to Make Your Mahi Have Meaning

Latest newsletter from Volunteering Canterbury – volunteers wanted: knitters & sewers, bird monitoring, play assistant, New Brighton market assistant

Employer: various – Volunteering Canterbury

Application Deadline: 1st Jul, 2026

Hune | June 2026

Volunteer Voices

If you are looking to gain experience for your future career, make friends, or give back to your community, volunteering even a few hours can give you a real boost.

As Pauline shares, volunteering brings a sense of accomplishment and belonging – something many students are looking for while navigating study and life. Your time and skills matter, and there are so many ways to get involved across Waitaha Canterbury.

> Get involved now

Stay in the Loop with Volunteering Opportunities and Stories that Matter!

Our bi-monthly Volunteering Matters newsletter is packed with volunteer opportunities, events, resources, and real stories from people making an impact across Waitaha.

For students, it’s also a great way to discover opportunities that build confidence, connections, experience, and community involvement alongside study. Whether you’re looking to gain practical skills, meet new people, explore career pathways, or simply give back, volunteering can open doors in unexpected ways.

If you’re already volunteering or just starting to think about it, this newsletter makes it easy to stay connected and find your next step into volunteering – with just one email every second month.

> Sign up here

Rebecca:

“I have been volunteering consistently in various ways since I was 12 years old. While every role is different, they all provide me with immense benefits:

A sense of belonging and community.
The ability to donate, I can’t donate money, but I can donate my time.
Experience and strengthening soft skills like communication
Expanding my network of like-minded peers and mentors
It’s often a low-pressure environment where you can learn and make friends.

Getting out into the community through leadership, governance, or grass roots mahi gives me a sense of satisfaction and glee I can not achieve by scrolling through TikTok.”

We want to hear your student volunteer story! Sharing your experiences helps to spread the word about volunteering and showcases the amazing impact volunteers have in our community.

Share My Student Volunteering Story

We know many of you are already volunteering – but don’t forget to check out the roles available on our website volcan.org.nz. There are usually around 240 current opportunities!

We know the challenges students face around school and extra curricular activities, so here are a few roles we thought may suit:

Knitters and Sewers
Organisation: Volunteering Canterbury
When: 15 April – 13 June
Location: Anywhere
Volunteering Canterbury helps volunteers to find opportunities, and supports community groups to engage with volunteers. Volunteers are needed for a micro-volunteering project, Knit for Purpose, to knit and sew peggy squares into blankets, for distribution to those in need in the community. Knit one square or ten, at home, on the bus or on your lunch break.

> See more here

Seaside Market Volunteer
Organisation: New Brighton Project
When: Ongoing, Saturdays
Location: New Brighton
New Brighton Project works to support New Brighton’s growth as a diverse and inclusive community through celebration and engagement. Volunteers are needed to assist with setup, pack down, and general support on market days. This role runs on Saturdays from 8:00am – 3:30pm, weather permitting.

> See more here or search Type of Work ‘F undraising & Events‘

Bird Monitoring
Organisation: Styx Living Laboratory Trust
When: Ongoing, first Saturday of each Month
Location: Marshlands
Styx Living Laboratory Trust offers environmental education, research/learning and citizen science opportunities in the Styx. Volunteers are needed to monitor and count individual water bird species in the Styx River Catchment to compile a long-term data set.

> See more here or search Type of Work ‘Research, Policy & Analysis‘

Play Assistant
Organisation: Imagination Station
When: Ongoing
Location: Central Christchurch
Imagination Station provides free LEGO play to children and adults, to support the community and further education. Volunteers are needed to assist the facilitators, keep things organised, interact with kids and build with Lego.

> See more here or search Type of Work ‘E ducation & Training‘