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Charity

Rebecca’s two children peeking through the neighbours letterbox during Covid-19 lockdown in the US.

What’s your story? How long have you been away from New Zealand?

I left NZ at 15 years old, so it’s been a very long time! But my Mum has always lived here so there’s always been a connection and we were worried that we might not be able to see her again..

How does your experience of Covid-19 differ for you and your family between here and the United States?

We have four kids, ages 7, 5 and 3 year old twins. The kids primary school closed in March, and likewise with the preschool our twins were due to start. But my husband and I at least had the ability to work remotely. Between fulltime work and doing online schooling and general childcare with four kids we were exhausted, but at least we could keep ourselves safe – which is not the case for so many others in the U.S. The contrast with here though could not be greater. First there’s the obvious – our kids can go to school, they can leave the house, they can have playdates – in short, they can experience childhood again. Necessity had helped us convince ourselves that the kids were ok in the circumstances we were living under in DC, but we have seen them transform back into their fullest selves since getting out of quarantine. And for our twins, they had spent such a large chunk of their conscious lives just inside our house, with no social interaction outside our family.

The adjustment to life in NZ has been huge for them. When we first got out of quarantine they were totally overwhelmed by being in public spaces but they’re doing well now. My husband and I are sleep deprived because we’re working U.S. time zone hours, but it is a small price to pay. Then there’s a secondary impact, which is the sense of general safety that comes from feeling like you’re in a country where the government is actually trying to protect its population from Covid. Only once we were outside the U.S. did we fully appreciate the degree to which the Trump Administration has basically left the population to survive – or not – for themselves.

Can you tell us a bit about your Pay It Forward campaign? Why do you think it’s so important to give back to New Zealand?

Going through quarantine we were very conscious of the costs being borne by the NZ taxpayer, but even more than that we knew how much each and every Kiwi sacrificed in the initial lockdown to help get NZ to its current place as a global leader in responding to the pandemic. It didn’t feel right that our family would be reaping the benefits of those sacrifices without making any contribution of our own to NZ society. The Pay It Forward campaign is just one piece of this.

Not everyone returning will be able to make a financial contribution, but our hope is the campaign will catalyze returnees to think through the myriad ways, including non-financial, in which we can contribute. I’m sure there are thousands of other returnees out there who feel the kind of gratitude that we do, and I hope that if we can get the word out to them the campaign can become a vehicle for expressing that gratitude in a way that benefits NZ society. If even a fraction of returnees could donate then, as a group, we would be able to inject millions in charitable giving to the community.

How did you choose the charities you’ve dedicated the Pay It Forward campaign to?

There are so many worthy causes to support, so keeping it to three was tough. But we looked for well established charities whose work seemed particularly significant in the midst of Covid.

  1. WOMEN’S REFUGE – in recognition of the increased risks of domestic violence during lockdown;
  2. FOREST & BIRD – in recognition of the connection between environmental and public health; and
  3. KIDSCAN – in recognition of the disproportionate burden that the economic fallout from Covid-19 has placed on families that were already the most vulnerable.

If you want to get involved in the returnees’ campaign, Pay It Forward, you can find the Give A Little page here. 

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Filed Under: Kiwi coming home Tagged With: Charity, Coming Home, giving back

The SVA was born out of the Christchurch Earthquake of 2010. Can you tell me a bit about your motivations behind it?

We saw a need and wanted to help. Students had a dreadfully bad name pre-Christchurch earthquakes, well known for couch burning and pushing over rubbish bins while “binge drinking.” SVA was a collective response to this showcasing the strength of young volunteers.

How did the SVA respond to Covid-19?

The SVA was born out of a crisis, and we’ve spent a lot of the past decade working in the disaster space – so it felt only natural that we should do something to help when the pandemic hit. With the help of some very talented Kiwi tech entrepreneurs who were returning to New Zealand, and a partnership with New World, we created a nationwide contactless grocery delivery service from scratch in less than two weeks! We were blown away by the number of volunteers signing up to help, and thanks to them thousands of grocery items were delivered during lockdown, and beyond. Many of those that needed help weren’t comfortable with shopping online, so we also had a team of volunteers answering the phones, taking orders that way.

The stories I heard were incredibly moving. One that particularly struck me was an elderly gentleman living in a motel, whilst undergoing cancer treatment with no family nearby. He became tearful when describing what it feels like to be the one receiving help from a complete stranger with no questions asked. He felt so proud of the young people volunteering. We are still running the service for anyone who needs us, so please pass it onto to your friends or family.

How does volunteer work benefit the students and young people that get involved? Why is it so important to mobilise and educate our future generations?

There are lots of reasons why young people decide to volunteer, but often it is about making friends, feeling connected, and having a purpose. Our organisation is as much about the person volunteering as we are about the act of volunteering that they do. We do a lot with schools to empower young people to teach them how to help their community: it boosts their self confidence, grows their experience and hones their skills to better equip them for the future. We’re all about giving everyone the tools to solve problems in their own backyard.

Beyond your youth engagement programmes with primary to tertiary students, how can people get involved and/or give back through the SVA?

SVA is a charity and we survive on the donations we receive to keep on recruiting, training and supporting young volunteers at all stages of their journey. We recently started our Wheelbarrow Club for those that are able to donate monthly, and it’s a hark back to the days of the earthquake when green wheelbarrows were the tools that enabled our work. We’d love for you to donate if you can.

If you are in New Zealand and have some time to give we welcome volunteers of all ages (not just students!) – you’re welcome to get in touch [email protected].

Now that you’re reaching the 10 year mark, what has been your proudest achievement with the SVA so far, and what’s on the horizon?

There have been many wonderful moments over the past decade; with thousands of incredible people pitching in to contribute to the SVA movement. Personally, I am really proud of our primary school and secondary school programmes that engage 65,000 young kiwis each year as volunteers.

Looking forward, we’re currently piloting a ‘Tech Friends’ initiative, to pair young volunteers with older people that need assistance and setting-up SVA clubs all around Aotearoa so that tertiary aged students can be supported to set up projects wherever they are. And, our ‘SVA for Kids’ Primary School Program continues to grow.

Follow us on social media to find out more, or drop me a line to find out how you can get involved with the SVA – we’re a movement of passionate people, and we’d love to have the Kea network involved.


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Filed Under: Businesses growing at home Tagged With: Charity, Christchurch, Philanthropy, Sam Johnson, Student Volunteer Army, Volunteering

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