Volunteer Sector worth billions to New Zealand

Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Jo Goodhew is marking the beginning of a week which celebrates one of our most valuable sectors, both financially and socially, as National Volunteer Week gets underway for 2016.

“New Zealanders are amongst the most generous in the world when it comes to volunteering their time, skills, and helping others,” says Mrs Goodhew. 

“Around 1.2 million kiwis volunteer for at least one charity or not-for-profit organisation, which adds up to over 157 million hours donated to our communities each year.*

“This generosity and community spirit means that not-for-profit organisations contribute $6 billion worth of time and skills to our GDP every year. The value of volunteers’ labour alone contributes $3.5 billion to our GDP.

“Volunteering is important for all communities regardless of their size or location. Volunteers make a huge contribution to New Zealand in almost every type of activity: from sports, recreation, arts, culture and heritage to emergency and social services, health, education, conservation and the environment.

“New Zealanders volunteer their time and skills for a multitude of reasons. For some it will be to develop additional skills, for others, the social contact with other people in their community. For many who volunteer, they recognise that they have the time and the ability to contribute their skills and knowledge in a meaningful way in the volunteer sector.

“Lending a helping hand and being prepared to contribute to your community is part of what it means to be a Kiwi; so we should celebrate all those who give their time and effort to help others, and consider pitching in ourselves,” Mrs Goodhew says.

National Volunteer Week runs from 19 – 25 June, and is co-ordinated annually by Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ).

*Source: Statistics New Zealand, Non-profit Institutions Satellite account http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/NationalAccounts/non-profit-2013-mr.aspx