Every year on December 5, International Volunteer Day, a United Nations-led initiative, is celebrated worldwide. It is an opportunity to champion the impact volunteers have in our communities.

Here in Otago, Volunteer South: Dunedin alongside Volunteer South: Central Lakes are the champions of volunteering, and we just love this great little video from the recent Volunteer Awards hosted here in Ōtepoti | Dunedin, which we hope inspires you and many other people to try out volunteering and to thank volunteers for their service in our community.

The theme for this years International Volunteer Day was solidarity though volunteering — "Together, act now".

For the future of our planet, we must act together, and we must act now. This is not an era to stand alone but together, as one, in solidarity with each other. Volunteering is where compassion meets solidarity. Both share the same core values – supporting each other from a position of trust, humility, respect, and equality.

As we close out 2022 we thank each and every volunteer for all your do to help make our communities stronger and more connected.