Our area offices and service centres occasionally need assistance with administrative work.  This can be for big projects like our Annual Appeal and Red Rose Day, or more day to day requirements.

Work can involve data entry, communicating with volunteers, processing distribution of member communications and more.

We are looking for people to help make our annual appeal the best one yet!

Annual appeal runs from 9-15 March 2015 and we need a variety of volunteers to help out.  Volunteering may include donating an hour or two of your time to collect on the street or in your local supermarket.  It could also include doing leaflet drops or helping out at your local service centre.

It's a great way to help us raise money to support our local and international services and programmes.  Sign up today!

Our book fairs are not to be missed! 

A huge number of volunteer hours keep our book fairs running smoothly.  From book sorting throughout the year, through to making the magic happen on the day, our book fair volunteers go the extra mile.

We are looking for volunteers who are interested in working a few hours a week, fortnight or month throughout the year sorting and collecting donated books.  Volunteers work in a team, making it a great social activity.

We also need volunteers in the lead up to the book fair and during the fair to help set-up, stocking and re-stocking books, managing sales and helping pack down.

Volunteering at one of our book fairs is a great way to get out in the community as well as help fundraise to support the work we do throughout New Zealand and overseas.

Breakfast Club volunteers help prepare the meal and have breakfast with the children.

This interaction includes sharing conversations, modelling positive behaviour such as manners, social skills and sharing experiences with the younger children.

Mentors reward positive behaviour with verbal praise and ignore or report negative behaviour.

Our mentors usually volunteer one day a week for an hour and a half from 7:30am to 9:00am.

Our community transport takes people from their homes to community appointments - for instance to their doctor, hospital outpatient clinic, medical specialist or medical centre.

The service relies on volunteer drivers to take people to and from their appointments.  

Time commitment varies by region, but usually involves a couple hours of driving in the community once a week, fortnight or month, depending on your availability.

Volunteer drivers must:

• Have a full drivers licence
• Demonstrate the ability to meet all training requirements/standards for the role
• Have sensitivity towards and be able to relate to people from different lifestyles and social and economic backgrounds
• Undertake a Police check

Our curtain banks provide curtains to families and individuals in the community who don't have the resources to purchase them.  Keeping homes warm with appropriate sized curtains is essential to maintain health and wellbeing.  

Our curtain bank volunteers help look after the shop during opening hours, sort and collect donated curtains and fix/alter any curtains that need mending.

Time commitment will vary from region to region, depending on curtain bank opening hours and volunteer availability. 

Our disaster welfare and support teams are made up of highly committed, multi-skilled emergency service volunteers.

They have a wide variety of professional backgrounds, delivering essential services during and immediately following a disaster.

Team members will mostly train and respond in their local area but may travel throughout New Zealand supporting other Red Cross teams at emergency events, should the need arise. 

Our response teams are trained in a variety of skills which benefit both themselves and the New Zealand community. These skills include, but are not limited to:  

• First aid up to pre-hospital emergency care
• Welfare support up to supervisor level
• Community outreach
• Ground based rescue
• Disaster Communications
• Personal preparedness

• Find out more about becoming an emergency management volunteer.

Becoming a Red Cross fundraising volunteer is a great way to meet new people and help fundraise to support the work we do throughout New Zealand and overseas.

From Annual Appeal street collection to handing out roses on Red Rose Day, there are so many ways to help make a difference.

Volunteering during fundraising events is a great way to get involved with Red Cross without needing to commit to ongoing volunteer hours.  You can pop in and volunteer once a year, once a month or just once in a while, whatever works best for you!

Our hospital services volunteers, in partnership with local District Health Boards, provide a warm and friendly welcome to hospital patients and visitors.

Volunteers may visit wards offering a selection of items such as drinks and snacks or books and magazines.

Our hospital service volunteers are a friendly face and a considerate and sensitive visitor during a patient's recovery and recooperation.  A few hours once a week, fortnight or month can make all the difference in someone's recovery.

We frequently have opportunities for students and those looking to gain work experience to join us as an intern.

Internships are usually project-based and can vary from area to area.  Some past internships have included event management, youth engagement projects, advocacy campaigns and more.

Our knitting groups are a great way to socialise and expand and evolve your knitting skills, while giving back to the community.

Knitting groups meet on a monthly basis and knit together.  The sweaters, hats, blankets, scarves and other knitted treasures are delivered to people in need from pre-mature babies in the neonatal ward to newly arrived refugee families.

Our meals on wheels service supports elderly, ill and disabled people living at home who would otherwise struggle to provide healthy meals for themselves.

Meals are collected and delivered during lunch time on weekdays only (not weekends or public holidays).  Drivers use their own vehicles and are rostered onto teams, delivering approx one day a week, fortnight or month, depending on availability. 

If you have a car and 60-90 minutes to spare during the week, then please sign up to become a meals on wheels volunteer driver.

The 'No Limits' programme combines a unique mix of outdoor education skills, activities and educational modules provided by the Police, Army, Fire Service, Department of Conservation, Surf Lifesaving, dieticians and chefs. It is designed to help 10-12 year old students acquire and develop skills including problem solving, decision making, communication, planning and teamwork as well as exposing them to a range of positive role models.

The 'No Limits' programme is facilitated by youth leader volunteers, known to the students as “besties” who have been selected from high school leadership programmes throughout the region. 

Becoming a youth leader gives you the opportunity to positively influence a young person's life, teaching them the importance of team work and helping build their self-confidence.

The 'No Limits' programme is run twice a year during school holidays.

Outreach volunteers help support people in greater Christchurch who have been affected by the earthquakes.

Volunteers are present at community hubs and local events to provide a listening ear or information about Red Cross recovery programmes and grants.

Outreach volunteers can also make home visits on request. For more information on becoming an outreach volunteer contact our recovery team on 0800 468 873. 

You can support a refugee family to build a new life in New Zealand!

Our refugee services volunteers complete a comprehensive training course and are placed in teams to work with newly arrived refugee families or individuals for their first 6 months in New Zealand. Volunteers are supported by staff throughout their placement and assist with tasks which include:

• Setting up homes
• Linking with Work & Income, schools, ESOL courses, local GPs
• Orientating to the local community (facilities, public transport)
• Providing ongoing support (hospital appointments, mail, Work & Income appointments, social visits)
• Alerting our professional staff to particular needs or issues

If you want to help a family start again, learn about new cultures and meet new people, we’d love to hear from you. You will change a life, and maybe also your own.

• More information about volunteering and upcoming training schedules

Do you have a love for fashion and need some retail work experience?

We are always looking for volunteers for our retail shops who are reliable and can commit to four hours of volunteering per week. 

As a retail assistant you will pick up many new retail skills, get valuable work experience and receive on the job training.  A great way to get your foot in the door to retail world!

Our volunteer support programme gives us the opportunity to give back to the volunteers who have deliver our programmes and services for many years.

Volunteer support programme volunteers may call, write or visit past volunteers or current volunteers who are going through a difficult time.  They provide support during a time of need and give back to those who have donated their time to Red Cross in the past.

Whether you have an hour every day, once a week or every fortnight, we are always looking for volunteers to help support one another.

We are looking for some outstanding volunteers to help out in our new Newtown processing centre!

• Do you have great organizational skills?
• How about an eye to recognize different levels of clothing brand merchandise?
• Can you clean, repair, sew?
• Are you physically fit and can help collect and move furniture?
• Do you have a full clean driver’s license and enthusiasm to operate our van as the face of Red Cross in our local community?

If you can say yes to any of the above, we need you!

Our processing centre volunteers will be working alongside an official Shop Supervisor and other volunteers to assist with assessing, sorting and organizing donated clothing and household items for distribution to our four major Red Cross stores in the Wellington region.

Specifically, volunteers may help with:

• Opening large donation clothing bags,
• Distributing clothing and items to categorized boxes,
• Working as/with the van drivers lifting and moving donated clothing and furniture
• Sorting/repairing small homeware and furniture items.
• Some light housekeeping duties are involved following each shift (i.e. brushing floors, mopping).

Van drivers need to be reliable and available between 10am-2pm for one 5 hour shift on any weekday Mon-Fri, have a full, clean drivers licence and a passion for being the face of Red Cross Retail in our community.

To express your interest in this position please call Lorraine on 04 387 1100 or stop by the Kilbirnie shop for an application form.