Volunteer Opportunities

Whānau Āwhina Plunket is a non-profit national organisation that is passionately committed to the well-being of children and their families. Plunket support families to ensure children reach their full potential in the first 5 years of life. Services available include parenting advice and support, child health promotion and health education.
Our Ministry of Education Playgroup is seeking one or two volunteer facilitators (could be a job share role alternate weeks) to run this well attended community pre-school playgroup. This playgroup is certified by the Ministry of Education, is well attended and has been running for 17 years, supported by a dedicated group of local parents. Operating at our Plunket premises in Fern Drive, it has become an appreciated feature of Halswell, with most locals dropping in at some point of their parenting journey for a safe place for their little ones to explore and learn, while they enjoy a cuppa and much needed adult conversation and support.
Duties include set up and pack down of toys and activities, welcoming whānau and tamariki as they arrive, offering hot drinks and biscuits, connecting with newcomers, planning and guiding the focus of activities. A wide variety of toys and resources have been obtained to support many different learning opportunities, with a limited budget for replenishing supplies and updating resources.
Several attending volunteers are available to assist during the sessions and for set up and pack down, but as they bring their young families, they are unable to take on full facilitation duties.
Our energetic and well loved current facilitator Claire will be finishing up her 7 year stint to return to the workforce at the end of 2025 and ideally we would like the new facilitator(s) to begin this role near the end of this year to spend time with Claire and learn the ropes.