By Margaret McLachlan, Volunteering NZ
16th February, 2026
Emergency Volunteering in the Bay of Plenty
Volunteers in the Bay of Plenty provided great support in the recovery from the Mauao (Mt Maunganui) and Welcome Bay storm events of late January.
A team of volunteers organised by SociaLink Volunteering Services supported the He Maimai Aroha Community Care Centre.
Volunteer team well-prepared and welcoming
“We want to say how amazing our emergency volunteer team has been. They welcomed people, cared for the space and created a welcoming environment for people to reflect on our community loss,” says Liz Davies, Chief Executive of SociaLink.
Heather Chander, an emergency volunteer, has had a role welcoming people as they arrive.
“It is very touching that so many have come to reflect, pay their respects, or, through their feelings, create a tribute to those who have been so tragically taken. The outpouring of love has been truly humbling.”
Jo Veale, Chairperson, Mount Business Association says the volunteers were well-prepared to meet the diverse needs of our community members and contributed their time freely and with goodwill.
“Volunteering Services has played a pivotal role in the successful staffing of our community care centre, He Maimai Aroha. Their dedicated efforts have significantly enhanced our ability to provide comprehensive care and support to those in need.”
Volunteer coordination behind the scenes
Volunteering Services provided the volunteer coordination to mobilise volunteers at short notice.
Volunteering Services is supporting Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council with emergency volunteers. The councils in turn partially funded Volunteering Services to establish an emergency volunteering database and Volunteer Management System.
“Our preparedness work has proved invaluable, resulting in solid relationships, agreed ways of working and a volunteer management system that could be activated at short notice.
“The system was tailored to support volunteering in an emergency, and a team of over 100 standby emergency volunteers were onboarded,” Liz Davies says.
The online Volunteer Management System meant that volunteers could register to help, view volunteer opportunities and self-assign to tasks – a sustainable way to ensure ongoing volunteer support and to enable the Volunteering Services team to be responsive to emerging needs and new requests for help.
Volunteering Services is also collaborating with Student Volunteer Army (Waikato) to provide volunteer support across the storm-affected region in Western Bay of Plenty.
With more severe weather events likely, it’s vital to be prepared for involving volunteers after an emergency.
