Two young adults making a difference in Marlborough!
For Student Volunteer Week we're shining the spotlight on a few local young volunteers. Today we'd like you to meet Justin and Taylah who volunteer with Marlborough Youth Trust...
How old are you?
Taylah: 18
Justin: 20
What do you do when you volunteer?
We are both part of the Marlborough Youth Trust Advisory Group (MYTAG). At MYTAG meetings, we do development courses and plan youth-focussed events like Spring Fest and Beach Fest. Planning events involves arranging a venue, entertainers, food vendors, transport, parking, advertising, and making sure it all fits within a budget. We also volunteer at the events, helping with set-up (e.g. staging) and pack-down, manning the front gate, and other miscellaneous tasks that make sure the event runs smoothly. Justin often runs the sausage sizzle.
What is your favourite part?
Taylah: Getting to see what happens behind the scenes and seeing everyone working together.
Justin: Seeing the event finally fall into place after months of planning and watching the youth attending the event having heaps of fun.
Why did you start volunteering?
Taylah: I have a passion for helping people and I was already involved with Marlborough Youth Trust so it felt natural to take the next step.
Justin: I joined the Youth in Emergency Services program in 2018 and, near the end of the course, Bex (Youth Worker at MYT) asked if wanted to continue my involvement with MYTAG and other MYT things. I’d really enjoyed the YES program so it was an easy yes!
How do you feel your volunteer work impacts the Marlborough community?
Taylah: Running youth-focussed events provides an opportunity for Marlborough’s young people to find and develop their passions.
Justin: Our youth-friendly events give young people an opportunity to hang out with people they might not meet otherwise, and it’s all in a safe environment.
Has volunteering given you an opportunity to learn anything or gain new skills?
Both: We have both been able to complete the Psychological First Aid course (taught us how to provide emotional and practical support to someone who has experienced a traumatic event) and the Strength Finders course (helped us discover our top five strengths so that we can work better in a team and pursue some personal development).
What would you say to someone who is thinking about starting volunteering?
Justin: “The skills you can learn while volunteering are definitely worth it; they look great on a CV. You also don’t know where these volunteer roles will lead to; you might find an industry you thought you’d never work in”
Taylah: “Volunteering can make you feel better in yourself, but it can also make other people feel better when they know you are putting all this time in for them.”
Where do you find the best bargains in Canterbury?
The first South Island edition of the Reduced to Clear outlet store opened in Christchurch’s South City mall this month. It sells end-of-the-line products, cancelled exports or short-dated items - similar to other discount grocers in the city such as Save More and BargainMe.
We're keen to hear from you - where do you find the best bargains in Canterbury? Who has the cheapest veges, the best deals on spices and nuts, the lowest price for petrol etc? What are your tips for dealing with cost of living increases? Comment below or email reporters@press.co.nz
Poll: Have you ever been bullied?
People associate bullying with children in schools, but it can actually stretch beyond childhood to workplaces or neighbourhoods.
This Friday is Pink Shirt Day, which began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against homophobic bullying after a new student was harassed for wearing pink. People across the globe are now encouraged to wear pink on this day to take a stand against bullying and promote inclusivity.
Have you or your whānau ever experienced bullying? Share your thoughts on Pink Shirt Day below.
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the Conversations column of your local paper.
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79.7% Yes
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19.9% No
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0.4% Other - I'll share below
Neighbourly Q&A: Renting rights with CAB's Sacha Green
We are continuing our Q&A sessions on Neighbourly. This week we have the amazing Sacha Green from Citizens Advice Bureau New Zealand (CABNZ) who will be answering your questions about your renting rights.
A little bit about Sacha:
She has been working for CABNZ for 10 years and is passionate about empowering people with knowledge of their rights as well as ensuring access to justice.
She helps support the team of over 2,000 trained volunteers who deliver the CAB service in 80 neighbourhoods around Aotearoa by providing advice and support at a national level on a wide range of issues. One of Sacha’s work areas is leading the CAB’s social justice work on housing and tenancy issues.
Whether you're a flatmate, landlord, boarder or flatmate, you can leave a comment below and Sacha will share an answer on Wednesday from 9.30am. You may want to ask about notice periods, bond fulfillment, reasonable rent increases, or even whose responsibility it is to deal with mould in the home.
Join Sacha here on Wednesday at 9.30am. See you then!.
⇩ Share your question below ⇩
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