As with most other sports, Gymnastics Clubs are hugely reliant on the support, time and energy from a huge number of volunteers. This month we recognise a few of the many hard-working volunteers in our region.
Steve Anderton from GymCity Papatoetoe
When asked why volunteers resign from their roles, becoming too busy or children outgrowing the Club are the most common responses.
Steve Anderton could have used these reasons many times over in the past 25+ years when his children moved on from gymnastics quite a few years ago and with a busy job as an engineer for Auckland Council. But over the last 25 years, Steve has continued to find time to volunteer at GymCity Papatoetoe. He coaches 2 nights a week and whenever the club needs help with their camp, sleepovers, competitions, discos, Steve wants to be in the show. Steve has financially assisted 30 athletes to attend the GymCity camp and has also contributed significantly to purchase essential equipment for the Club.
GymCity Papatoetoe is blessed to have a such a caring person as part of their club and community.
Brooke Savage from Mahurangi Gymsports
Brooke is 12 years old and she is a gymnast at Mahurangi Gymsports. She loves gymnastics but unfortunately, she can only train two days a week because the Club is training in Mahurangi College School hall, but they can’t use that facility every day.
Keen to find other ways to spend her time involved with gymnastics, Brook filled out the Volunteer Recruitment form to help out at the Artistic and Trampoline New Zealand Secondary School event at Tri Star Gymnastics recently. And so on the weekend of 9-10 September Brooke came all the way from Warkworth and was dropped off by her mum both days to volunteer on the floor all day Saturday and help in the kitchen and canteen all day Sunday.
Thanks to Brooke and all the other volunteers that helped make the NZ Secondary School events a great success.
Pic Brooke Savage from Mahurangi Gymsports and Kate Stewart, a Tri Star Gymnastics gym mum.
World volunteering: New Zealand in 6th position
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) produces an annual report bench-marking countries around the world across three giving domains:
• Volunteering for an organisation
• Donating money to a charity
• Helping a stranger, or someone unfamiliar
New Zealand remains in sixth place (behind Indonesia in 1st, but ahead of Australia, the US and the UK) but has had a decline compared to last year. Read the full report from CAF World Giving Index 2017.