You get more than you give

A wee 'Crisis collage' from over the years, starting with my first stint as 'doormen' - ie friendly security - back in 2015. I was even interviewed by BBC as a Kiwi helping out

Craig every second Tuesday

Kia ora and gidday everyone,

So last Friday was International Volunteers Day and I've been thinking about volunteering a bit lately, given the season and other things going on. Often at this time of year I'm gearing up to help out with Crisis at Christmas, an annual campaign in the UK that helps to provide meals, shelter, companionship, and many different kinds of support to those experiencing homelessness. I first got involved, somewhat by accident, in 2015 when I was stranded solo in the UK for the festive season thanks to visa applications and slow-moving bureaucracy. 

A rich silver lining to what could have been an otherwise grey Christmas cloud that year. 

In the decade since, I've participated in six Crisis 'seasons', giving hundreds of hours to volunteering in great teams at a couple of different London venues, helping our guests (rough sleepers) in various ways. It's been a really eye-opening thing, in terms of the broad impact of homelessness, breaking down (mis)perceptions, and more. 

I've been blessed to be involved with some terrific organisations over the years, making a difference locally, nationally, or beyond.  Lately it's been parkrun and Crisis mainly, along with Maddie raising funds for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices last year with her 10k charity walk. (And recently I've found myself on our local allotment garden committee too, using my legal/writing skills).

digging over cactus-edged cornfields
in the Colca Canyon, Peru

But in the past it's been everything from days clearing farmland in Peru or helping with kids after school programmes in Buenos Aires barrios, to various kids, human rights, or health causes in Aotearoa and elsewhere. Even running the Auckland marathon for the Heart Foundation, when I'd never been a runner (off sports fields) til then. 

It's true what they say - you get more than you give. 

I feel very fortunate that my Mum and Dad instilled in me from a young age the idea of giving back to anything you loved, getting involved, and also helping out where you can, where you see a need. The people I've met and the experiences I've had 'giving' my time etc, have been life-changing for me as much (or more) as those we've helped. 

The 2025 theme for International Volunteers Day was #EveryContributionMatters, highlighting that every act of volunteering, big or small, builds a stronger world. I've certainly witnessed that, whether it's someone bringing in some warm socks at Crisis for Christmas, having a short chat with someone vulnerable and for them to feel 'seen', or the way a kid's confidence soars when someone shows a genuine interest at an after-school club, or they've been attending parkrun for a few weeks or months. The little moments matter. A lot, sometimes. 

Some of our volunteers at our local junior parkrun

We're all busy. Busier and busier nowadays, it seems. So much urgency, whether genuine or just perceived. There's so much pushing and pulling at us. So little time, it seems. The news can be god-awful far too often, too. Finances are stretched thin to breaking. We all 'don't have time' for so much that matters. 

But as they say, in times of crisis, 'look to the helpers'. 

Helping out with L.I.F.E charity at a kids after
school club in poorest parts of Buenos Aires

I still firmly believe, perhaps naively, that there's more good in the world than bad. I've seen so much of it, in many different places. From many different people, of may different cultures and backgrounds. Whether volunteering officially or in 'caring' roles and professions or just helping out with family, friends, and communities, local clubs ad societies, wherever they see a need. On that note, if you can, perhaps find a way to volunteer, even if just for half an hour as a one-off, with something that matters to you. 

You may not change the world, but you could change someone's. 

Even your own. 

(Too cheesy? Perhaps. But hey, it's that time of year.)

Until next time, Ka kite anō

Whakataukī of the fortnight: 

Inspired by Zoe and her 'word of the week', I'll be ending my fortnightly posts by sharing a whakataukī (Māori proverb), a pithy and poetic thought to mull on as we go through life.

“Iti noa ana he pito mata”

(From the withered tree, a flower blooms)