Strong Voices

Sara Hillier-Jones is a long-serving IHC Volunteer. Sara first became involved with IHC in 2011 when she joined the IHC Friendship Programme and, before long, she became involved in the Skills-Based Programme as well. Since then, volunteering has remained a constant and meaningful part of her life.

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Meredith Jones from Blenheim recently earned a Student Volunteer Army Service Award. She tells us what volunteering means to her.

IHC has more than 20 Associations across New Zealand. And while each Association is very different, at the heart of all of them is the kaupapa of improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and their whānau.

On a sunny day in March, Student Volunteer Army (SVA) Service Award members from IDEA Services teamed up with the University of Canterbury SVA club at Climate Action Campus Ōtautahi.

Whether it’s supporting the elderly or advocating for the disabled or the environment, Hamish Gilbert is determined to show up.

A friend is one of the best things you can be, and the greatest things you can have

Winnie the Pooh

In December 2025, IHC signed a landmark agreement at Parliament that marks a huge step forward for disabled students and their whānau. This would not have been achieved without the remarkable dedication and resilience of IHC’s members, supporters, staff and Board.

It was an action-packed 24 hours for a group of families with children with intellectual disability at Whenua Iti Outdoor Education Centre in the Tasman District.

Thirty-four-year-old Tessa Haanen is the first female member of the Downright Dragons to gain her black belt. The Downright Dragons is an inclusive karate programme for young people with intellectual disability that’s been running for 17 years at Wellington’s Seido Dojo.

There was both excitement and some nerves in North Canterbury in January when TVNZ’s Seven Sharp crew arrived to film the team behind Beauty & Bloom.