Strong Voices

By Meredith Jones

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

My name is Meredith, and I enjoy keeping busy and doing the things that make me happy. I love swimming, watching movies, dancing, listening to music, and spending time with my family. Sunny days make me feel especially happy, and I enjoy getting out and being active.

Volunteering is an important part of my life. I volunteer at Plunket and at the soup kitchen, where I help in different ways. At Plunket, I put away donations, help with sales, and sort baby clothes into sizes. At the soup kitchen, I help with cleaning.

I enjoy volunteering because I like being busy, making new friends, and meeting lots of new people. It feels good to know that I am helping others and supporting organisations in my community.

When I received my pin, I felt very happy and proud. It was a real motivation for me to keep helping.

One of my favourite memories from volunteering is meeting new friends along the way. I have also learned new skills, like organising baby clothes into sizes and handling donations, processing payments both cash and online, and I feel very confident in the tasks I have learned.

Being part of my community makes me feel proud, because I like helping and raising money for organisations that make a difference.

If someone wanted to try volunteering, I would tell them it is an enjoyable experience where you can learn new things and meet new people.

At the moment I am volunteering three days a week, I would love to see more people helping in their community too.