2010 Nikau Foundation Corporate Challenge Celebration

Thank you, Adrian Wimmers, who has the most important job in this room – in keeping us all on time and in order.

I did half expect to come here tonight to a room full of fans doing the Mexican wave and blowing vuvuzela horns, as we continue to bask in the excitement of this morning’s World Cup game.

The All Whites team have captured the imagination of New Zealanders as they valiantly continue to tackle the world champions without so much as blinking.

While suddenly Winston Reid, Shane Smeltz, Ryan Nelson and Ricki Herbert have become household names, I want to also draw attention to the thousands of New Zealanders who are directly responsible for the magic that took place at Mbombela Stadium in the early hours of this morning.

I’m thinking about the fundraising team; the corporate sponsors; the football fans; the football families who have made football the new phenomenon.

Every Saturday throughout the land, New Zealanders give up their time, and their commitment to the pursuit of sports. They coach the school team, they referee, they organise transport to the game, they cut up the regulation oranges, they wash the uniforms. They provide first aid services; they clean the clubrooms, they maintain the field, the pitch, the pool, the green, the courts.

And I think it is especially pertinent today – at this gathering – to acknowledge CoachCorp, which creates relationships between companies and community sport, to get more people involved in sport and physical activity.

It’s a great concept – companies allowing their employees flexitime to be coaches or managers at school and club level sport.

The efforts of volunteers in the sporting arena – magnificent as they are – are but a microcosm of the amazing contribution that New Zealanders make in every community throughout Aotearoa.

It is estimated that 1.2 million people volunteered in 2009 – that’s 34% of the population aged ten years and over.

Every year New Zealanders contribute 27 million hours of formal, unpaid work for non-profit organisations which if we were to pay them, would be valued at almost $3.3 billion.

In fact volunteers are everywhere. We see them patrolling our beaches; attending accident scenes; on call out for search and rescue; preparing the flax for the weaving wananga; managing the car park; acting as voluntary tour guides; helping the show get on the road.

And for everyone we see, there are even more volunteers that aren’t seen – they are the Caring Callers on the other end of the phone; they are the committee members which keep the board afloat; they are caring for children, for the elderly; for those who are disabled or family members who are ill.


Tonight, at this celebration of the Nikau Foundation Corporate Challenge we welcome another 545 names to the cast of thousands who truly make a difference in the life of this great country of ours.

And as with any event like this one, there have been many people responsible for your success.

I want to thank Godfrey Boyce from KPMG for hosting this event; Kevin O’Connor from the Nikau Foundation for the inspiration the project generates, Ruth Collingham, Board member for Volunteering Wellington; and for the Volunteer Wellington staff, Pauline Harper and Judy Kerr.

But I can’t just stop there.

Because a huge vote of thanks must go out to the 42 organisations that have supported the teams that have entered the corporate challenge; allowing staff at least one day off per year to volunteer in the community.

It is really heartening to look over the list of 52 projects that have taken place throughout the Wellington region.

Teams from EFTPOS and Contact Energy made soup and sandwiches at Karori Community Centre; the squad from Morrison Ken cooked the evening meal at Ronald McDonald House; and ACC cleaned the boats for Sailability – a group of disabled sailors.

ANZ and the Earthquake Commission – somewhat appropriately one might think – worked on building a house for Habitat for Humanity in Porirua;


Transpower helped out on the desk at the national swimming competitions; and there was a combined corporate effort in helping with clearing and cutting work on Matiu Somes Island.

One of the things that really seemed to stand out in this year’s challenge was the emphasis given to tree care - planting native trees at Rimutaka Forest Park; making paths and planting at the Coolidge Street Reserve; tree planting on Mana Island; digging out agapanthas; weeding, gardening, pruning, cleaning.

There was a book called Exploration New Zealand in the seventies, inspired by a comment from John Pascoe – “bush to one man may seem an uncouth obstacle; to another it may be the source of inspiration and serenity”.

I come from the latter school – but I can appreciate that for many others, removing all obstacles from the forest pathways makes life just that bit more enjoyable.

And in essence that is what we are celebrating most tonight – making life just that bit easier, that bit more enjoyable.

It is somewhat ironic that the ultimate corporate challenge in itself is achieving what some call work/life balance – that vital balance between our working community and the community we live in – or as some call it, the life/life balance!.

This is the fourth year that the Nikau Foundation has supported the programme and it is wonderful to see more businesses signed up this year, wanting to make a real difference.

It’s fantastic to see the range of organisations– banks, government agencies, small businesses, large business – all working together for the benefit of the wider community.

And I want to pay tribute to the businesses who have recognised the importance of making a difference to our world – even when times are hard.

I was particularly taken with the initiative taken by Datamail and IAG to paint and clear at the Newlands Playcentre or ACC in clearing the stream at the premises of the Huntleigh Girl Guides.

What you are doing in supporting organisations which are in themselves run by volunteers, is also priceless; because you are role-modelling to the children, the importance of connecting with our communities.

It represents to me, the key message in this year’s Volunteer Awareness Week, of Volunteering Across the Generations.

Yesterday I was at a hui at our home marae in Whangaehu, and saw ample evidence of the way in which whanau work across the generations.

In fact marae are the perfect venue to see intergenerational work in practice - the mokopuna arranging cutlery; the parents organising the kai and the paepae all at the same time, our kaumatua supervising over everything.

Whether it be in the maintenance of our cultural heritage and traditions; the management of our institutions or the organisation of the people, there is always scope for each of the generations to offer support and learn from each other.

I would love to see the concept of ‘volunteering across the generations’ really develop across our communities and become wrapped around our families, so that volunteering together may become a family activity of choice.

I’ve seen some recent research which suggests that while there has been an increase in activity by donors and volunteers across the community; this appears to be from within the existing pool – the busiest people are just getting busier.

I would hope that from the experience you have all had in making your difference felt across the community, that you might think of other ways to share what you have learnt with others around you.

It is vital that New Zealanders continue to volunteer – and that people are supported to do so.

At a Government level we are trying to do our bit by getting rid of legislative barriers to volunteering and through the introduction of Payroll Giving.

Payroll giving is a way in which people can donate their pay to non-profit organisations and receive their tax credits back straight away. I want to really encourage all the employers here tonight to make payroll giving part of how your organisation and employees invest in the community.

Once again I want to thank everyone here for the extra hands that have been given to the community – hands that can paint, prune, cook, waterblast, write – and most of all – hands that can be extended in the expression of manaakitanga – the expression of generosity and support to one another.