Thousands of volunteers give up their time for the good of the game all over the country and it’s this dedicated group of people that New Zealand Football is looking to thank as National Volunteer Week takes place this week.

The campaign is driven by Volunteering New Zealand each year and seeks to recognise and celebrate the vital contribution of the country’s approximately 1.2 million volunteers to sport, social development, the economy and the environment.

New Zealand Football is marking National Volunteer Week with a federation-based recognition initiative that will see some of the game’s deserving volunteers thanked for their efforts.

To nominate a volunteer from your region please click here

A total of $3,500 in MTA gift vouchers is up for grabs across the country’s seven federations with clubs or individuals able to nominate a person from an affiliated club.

It is the fourth year New Zealand Football and its federations have run such an initiative and it proved popular in 2018 with several hundred nominations being put forward across the country.

New Zealand Football Community Development Manager Jamie Milne is pleased to again be able to give recognition to a group of people whose hard work often goes unnoticed.

“Volunteers are the lifeblood of our sport,” he says.

“New Zealand Football is extremely proud of the network of volunteers we have across the country who put in collectively thousands of hours to get girls, women, boys and men onto the football fields and futsal courts every week,” he says.

“It is still one of the most enjoyable parts of my role to meet these people, hear their stories and thank them for their contributions. We really do have some amazing people from the top to the deep south making a real difference – often under the radar and going quietly about their work,” he adds.

“It’s important we take the time to give a shout out to our football and futsal volunteers – you are amazing and we genuinely are grateful for your contributions and efforts.”
 

National Volunteer Week runs from June 16 to 22 and this year’s theme is ‘Whiria te tangata – weaving the people together’.

The range of recognition activities across the country can be followed via the Volunteering New Zealand Twitter feed @VolunteeringNZ and #NVW2019

New Zealand Football has now been partnered with Volunteering New Zealand for a number of years.

Clubs and federations can also undertake their own reviews in this space by utilising the Volunteering Best Practice Toolkit, which is available for download at www.volunteeringnz.org.nz

Nominations close at 10am on Monday 24 June.

Article added: Monday 17 June 2019