Volunteer Opportunities

Abbeyfield NZ is a not-for-profit organisation which provides affordable shared housing for the over-65s. There are currently 14 Abbeyfield houses throughout New Zealand.
Abbeyfield Wigram Incorporated runs Rhodes Abbeyfield house for 14 single residents who each have their own studio unit and share a communal kitchen, dining, lounge, and laundry facilities. Two cooked meals are provided every day. Abbeyfield is appropriate for single people who are still mobile and independent, but no longer have the energy to maintain a property and cook for themselves. Living in an Abbeyfield house has been shown to delay the need for Aged Residential Care on average by 3-4 years. Residents have a small personal garden bed next to each patio, the rest of the grounds offers lawns, vegetable and flower gardens and fruit trees, washing lines and a garden shed.
The house is managed by a volunteer committee. The committee employs the cook/housekeepers, maintains the building and grounds, reports to the national Abbeyfield organisation, liaises with the residents, assesses new applications, raises funds and pays the bills, undertakes marketing and publicity, and generally ensures that the rent remains within the means of those who rely solely on NZ Superannuation. This house was built on bare land in 2017. This role will ensure that the gardens are maintained through a combination of contracting service providers and planning what will be done by volunteers during quarterly working bees.