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The Rapid Relief Team (RRT), a helping hand for those in need, has been supporting Southland for over 10 years.
The volunteer-led group provides emergency and disaster relief, raises money for other charities and runs their own initiatives.
In the decade since being established in Southland, the group had supported emergency services, schools and fundraisers close to 700 times and served over 16,000 meals at community events in and around Gore and Invercargill.
Gore Rapid Relief Team leader Scott Malcolm said it was rewarding for their more than 40 on-call volunteers in the Gore area.
“They get the joy of looking after [people] — putting smiles on people's faces and giving back to the community,” Mr Malcolm said.
The group has raised thousands of dollars for youth, health and disability, homelessness, poverty and hardship causes.
For the past three years, the RRT has filled the stomachs of nurses on International Nurses Day, on May 12, and on other occasions at Gore, Southern Lakes and Kew Hospitals.
The group has served food at the Hug a Rig event in Waimumu, near Gore, nine times since 2016, which gave people with disabilities and their families rides in big rigs and classic cars.
Mr Malcolm said the group valued “getting as close to the need as we can” at the annual event.
The Gore group also supported Civil Defence relief centres when the floods hit in 2020.
Last year, the Gore RRT donated 50 FreshStarrt Care Kits to Mataura School.
The packs, given to students, had personal care essentials such as soap, shampoo, deodorant and a toothbrush.
RRT also provided Mataura School with their globally-launched Smarrt Cookienutritional bars.
In a statement, Invercargill RRT team leader Bradley Murray said their work made the community stronger.
"Difficult times and circumstances can take a real toll on someone's entire outlook on life, and a simple gesture of a free meal or a free product can make all the difference when they're struggling,” Mr Murray said.
In August, the group supported the annual Southlanders in Need event in Invercargill by donating 50 care kits, 400 water bottles and six blankets.
In June, the RRT had provided Invercargill police with supplies for those who experienced hardship and family harm.
They had been present at the Southern Scooter Challenge four times since 2017, including this year, which raised money for the Grace Street Project, an under-construction community hub in South Invercargill.
In 2021, the RRT raised close to $2000 for the Ronald McDonald House (RMHC) family room at Southland Hospital, in Invercargill, at an event in June.
In 2024, as part of their School Stationery Program which started in 2020, the group provided Invercargill schools New River Primary and Invercargill Middle School pupils with essential stationery.
The stationery programme supported close to 30,000 students across 94 schools throughout the country.
The RRT, part of the global charitable arm of Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, had provided food and drink for riders taking part in the annual Westpac Chopper Bike Ride six times — in 2019, 2021 and from 2023 to 2026.
In Southland, the RRT had served 16,700 meals, been involved in 672 volunteering opportunities and provided 2312 hours of volunteer support.