Rimutaka MP Chris Hipkins took some time out this weekend to help volunteers with the Wellington City Mission Food Drive, collecting food in the foyer of Countdown, Upper Hutt.

“Saturday’s collection was a real success. I’m proud to represent a community with so much generosity and compassion. The food and goods collected will provide a crucial safety net for individuals and families in their hour of need,” Chris Hipkins said.

The Rimutaka MP is also keen to draw attention to the fact that this week is Volunteer Awareness Week. This year’s theme is ‘Volunteering Across The Generations’.

Driven by Volunteering New Zealand, Volunteer Awareness Week aims to acknowledge the excellent work done by our many volunteers with a key objective of encouraging more people to volunteer.

“Volunteer Awareness Week is a great time to acknowledge our volunteers and recognise the hard work they put in to making our community a better place.

“We’re really lucky that we have such a strong culture of volunteering here in the Hutt Valley. As I move around the electorate and meet various community groups I’m always impressed by the number of people I see getting involved in their local community at a grassroots level,” Chris Hipkins said.

Hipkins congratulated current volunteers in the community and encouraged others to seek out opportunities to get involved in volunteering.

“Volunteers really do make the world go around, and there are countless charitable Rimutaka residents who devote a lot of their free time to helping other people and promoting worthwhile causes. There are plenty of ways to get involved and I encourage all budding volunteers to give it a go.

Alongside the Wellington City Mission, the Upper Hutt Food Bank always welcomes food donations and several local supermarkets have a collection bin for this.

For more information about some of the volunteering opportunities available visit www.volunteernow.org.nz or call 0800 VOL CNTR.