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Wairarapa MP, Georgina Beyer, today took up a challenge issued by Volunteering Waikato and donated her time to highlight the work done by volunteers.
"I am delighted to be able to help publicise Volunteer Awareness Week. The difficulty for me was to decide which of the many voluntary organisations in the Wairarapa electorate to ask if they needed help," Ms Beyer said.
"They all do a wonderful job and I am proud to have been able to lend a small amount of my time to assist."
Ms Beyer spent an hour at Wairarapa Women's Refuge and another at the Wairarapa Women's Centre today and is to help serve lunch at the Elske Daycentre - Anglican Care, in Dannevirke, on Monday.
This is International Year of Volunteers and Ms Beyer helped launch this in New Zealand at a special function, attended by the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, and the Minister Responsible for the Community and the Voluntary Sector, Steve Maharey, at the Beehive in December.
Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins said he is delighted more than 50 of his parliamentary colleagues are joining him in taking up the volunteering challenge issued by Volunteering Waikato, his own IYV Ministerial Reference Group and other Volunteer Centres around the country.
"The idea is we spend at least four hours helping out in our communities," Mr Hawkins said. "Not only will this give us all a greater appreciation of the wonderful work carried out by volunteers, but it is also hoped we will encourage other New Zealanders to follow our example."
MPs from up and down the country and from all sides of the House will be taking on extra, unpaid duties over the next week as their special contribution to the International Year of Volunteers.
The MPs voluntary effort is also timed to help publicise Volunteer Awareness Week which runs from March 11 to 17.
The challenge is meant to be "fun and meaningful" and the MPs' voluntary duties will reflect this, Mr Hawkins said.
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