Wanaka-based Salvation Army volunteers (back, from left) Jane Baker, Jenny Mitchell, Marilyn Gordon, Tom Fitzgerald, Maire McElrea and Helen Millar, with (front, from left) Salvation Army Queenstown auxiliary captain Catherine Walker, Queenstown senior services programme co-ordinator Claire Kluyts, Wanaka programme co-ordinator Jo Shaw and Wanaka assistant co-ordinator Vivienne Fitzgerald, at a morning tea for volunteers. Photo by Lucy Ibbotson.
The programme was launched in Queenstown and Wanaka in August 2009 and uses volunteers to provide friendship and support for older people in the community. The district was one of three places selected to trial the three-year pilot programme before it is introduced in other centres next year.
In Wanaka, about 25 volunteers provide services to 28 clients, while Queenstown has about 16 volunteers and 15 clients.
Volunteer duties include mowing lawns, gardening, running errands, reading, or simply stopping by for a cuppa and catch-up.
