Wendy Rapana, who has been our nominated and elected Māori Board representative since 2016, recently stepped down from our board. This is a vital role to better enable us Volunteering New Zealand to work towards better partnerships with iwi/Hapu. 

In the time that Wendy has been a part of the board of Volunteering New Zealand we have made significant changes in our strategic framing and focus. Our new strategic plan and purpose seek to better reflect the aspiration and potential of volunteering and mahi aroha in all its forms, and has aligned us to better work alongside a Māori world view. Centering our purpose around being the kaitiaki of mahi aroha, and firmly rooting our organisation’s “how we do things” within values of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga. This is a direct result of Wendy’s influence and leadership at board level.

Wendy has also contributed a huge amount from her own experience and expertise, from her knowledge of Te Ao Māori and vocational education assessment in. She has driven some key connections for Volunteering New Zealand in the sector and helped to facilitate the partnership with Careerforce for the Level 4 Certificate in Frontline Management for Volunteer Managers. Wendy played a key role in the refresh of the Volunteering New Zealand vision, purpose and strategy and was a keen advocate of our Te Tiriti journey.

Māori volunteer the most in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly within two vital areas of sports and community/place based services. It is vital to have voices at our board level that advocate for and champion strategies and actions that ensure Māori within the volunteer sector are best represented and that the impact of Māori who volunteer is seen. 

At our last board election, members elected two additional representatives who identify as tangata whenua: Debbie Gee and Lindy Lely Kawharu. However, the position that Wendy filled was a specific and targetted role for Māori Board representation.

We are now actively recruiting for our next our Māori Board representative. You can learn more about this here.

Thank Wendy for your commitment to Mahi Aroha and Volunteering New Zealand over the last 4 years. 

Kia kaha
Tania Jones
Board Chair
Volunteering New Zealand