Celebrating our volunteers this National Volunteer Week

Surf Life Saving New Zealand is taking the opportunity to acknowledge the invaluable contribution made by its members during the largest celebration of volunteering and civic participation, National Volunteer Week (NVW).

NVW is coordinated by Volunteering New Zealand and is celebrated annually in New Zealand during the third week of June.

This year, it is being held from June 21-27 and the theme is "there is a place for you to volunteer" or "he wahi mohou hei tuao" which highlights the diversity of volunteer opportunities, volunteers themselves and the impacts of volunteering.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand CEO Paul Dalton says NVW is a fantastic chance to celebrate the invaluable skill, knowledge and time contributions given by our thousands of volunteer lifeguards and club administrators.

"Being a volunteer is a huge commitment and for many of our members it's a lifetime commitment. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our charity organisation and it's important to celebrate them and the role they play in keeping our Surf Life Saving communities strong and healthy," he says.

SLSNZ has over 19,000 members spread across 74 clubs nationwide and last season, lifeguards spent over 200,000 hours on patrol, saving 1,310 lives.

Mr Dalton says SLSNZ is proud of its volunteers all year around but it's important to take an opportunity like National Volunteer Week to make sure they know their efforts are appreciated. "We're also looking forward to announcing our 'Volunteer of the Year' at our annual Awards of Excellence in Wellington on September 19," he says.

To celebrate NVW, SLSNZ is giving away five prize packs thanks to its key partners.

Each pack contains the following

• State high-visibility training top and t-shirt
• DHL Surf Lifeguard top or rash vest for Lifeguards and DHL beach chair
• $50 BP gift card and five Wild Bean coffee vouchers
• $50 KFC voucher
• A two-day weekend car hire voucher from Thrifty Car Rental
• SLS sunscreen from BDM Grange
• Bed Bath & Beyond SLS beach towel
• 2 x bottles of Pure NZ SLS spring water from NZ Drinks
• SLS key ring, beach ball and flying disc

To be in with a chance of winning, simply email communications@surflifesaving.org.nz and tell us (in 100 words or less) why you love being a volunteer. Make sure you include your name, club and volunteer role.

One pack will be given away per day between Monday June 22 and Friday June 26 to a Surf Life Saving volunteer.

To find out more about Surf Life Saving New Zealand or becoming a volunteer lifeguard, click here.

For more information, please contact:

Lisa Honeybone, Media & Communications Specialist, SLSNZ
Phone 09 303 9335 or 0276 488 823
Email lisa.honeybone@surflifesaving.org.nz