13 March 2014
Quick volunteering with a difference on 15 March
In today’s busy lifestyles, giving your time to volunteer can be difficult to find. The odd minute or spare hour of time
usually is all you think you have to give.
Microvolunteering is a concept where instead of a volunteer offering large chunks of their day, week or year to a
charity they are given small tasks to do here and there.
Vanisa Dhiru, CEO of Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) says, “Microvolunteering is ideal for busy people who may work all
week and, although want to volunteer, think they have minimal spare time to give. Bite-sized tasks can include giving
advice on how to increase social media reach, proof reading a document or testing a survey tool.
Today’s charities and not-for-profit organisations need to flexible in order to attract support – including volunteers.
Volunteering tasks and roles need to be flexible – and re-thinking new ways of achieving the same outcomes are being
discussed by not-for-profits which can help organisations to progress objectives.
This year’s Microvolunteering Day is on Saturday 15 March. The day was created to increase awareness of ‘bite-sized’
volunteering that is being adopted by progressive community organisations. This annual event will inspire charities to
embrace the idea of this novel way of volunteering, stimulating discussion on the concept.
“You don’t always need to take on a regular long-term volunteer role give. If you have interests in a range of causes,
and cannot decide which to focus on, small tasks where you ‘microvolunteer’ can help a lot for any organisation,” says
Vanisa.
“Whatever you specialise in or would like to have a go at, there could be a quick way to help a good cause. Take a few
minutes out to think what you can do, and then take a few more minutes out to act on it,” says Vanisa.
For more information on microvolunteering, go to http://microvolunteeringday.weebly.com, or follow #microday on Twitter.
Microvolunteering action guide: www.helpfromhome.org/microvolunteering-project.pdf
Volunteering New Zealand (VNZ) is an association of New Zealand organisations that have a commitment to volunteering,
such as volunteer centres, national and other organisations. Their mission is to promote, support and advocate for
volunteering. www.volunteeringnz.org.nz
ENDS