Change the world - one hour at a time

During Volunteer Impact Week, June 16 to 22, members of the University community all over the world will come together for the shared purpose of giving back.

The University maintains a network of around 200,000 graduates globally, who are being called on to pledge one hour of their time to a cause of their choice. Staff and students are also taking part.

University Alumni Relations Manager Joel Terwilliger says Volunteer Impact Week is a global celebration of volunteering which utilises the talent, skills and altruistic nature of the University of Auckland community.

“It’s about igniting and mobilising our community to collectively contribute to issues important to Aotearoa New Zealand and the world. Imagine the difference we could make if our entire community volunteered to make a positive difference for just one hour.”

The University’s Alumni Office has coordinated a number of projects and opportunities which volunteers can sign-up to online. Some examples are:

- Restoring a wetland at Te Henga (Bethells) in West Auckland.
- Donating books to establish village libraries in Tonga.
- Placing a trap in your backyard to help New Zealand become predator-free, and provide useful data on pests.
- Volunteering your dog for research into how animals think at the Clever Canine Lab. The Lab is also looking for people to help run experiments.
- A call for male teaching graduates to share their career stories, particularly if they are teaching in primary or early childhood settings.
- A beach micro-plastic sample collection at Little Shoal Bay in Auckland.

A number of international events are also taking place, including:

- A soup kitchen in New York.
- An art and craft session at a hospital in Beijing for children in a leukaemia ward.
- A beach clean-up in the Philippines.
- A software coding workshop for kids in Madagascar run by Onja, a charity set up by an alumnus.

University of Auckland alumni, friends, staff and students are encouraged to join a volunteering opportunity at alumni.auckland.ac.nz/VIW.