South Wairarapa District Council Mayor Martin Connelly says volunteers are the lifeblood of our community and he will thank them at a morning tea called We Thank You – E mihi nui ana! in June.

This is the second consecutive year the Council has formally acknowledged the priceless contribution that volunteers bring to our community at a morning tea, which is timed to coincide with Volunteering New Zealand’s annual Big Shout Out to volunteers across Aotearoa New Zealand.

The South Wairarapa’s We Thank You – E mihi nui ana! morning tea is a chance for the Mayor to give something back to volunteers on behalf of the community. That something will be a token of appreciation by way of a morning tea, a certificate to mark the vital role of volunteers and a modest thank you gift; itself given from the community.

“Volunteers are worth their weight in gold,” says Mayor Martin Connelly.

“They run our community’s food banks, keep us safe in emergencies by being firefighters and first responders, they open the doors to health and fitness events, raising funds for community groups simultaneously. They perform all these roles and more, without pay. We owe them our debt of gratitude.”

South Wairarapa District Council’s Big Shout Out volunteer morning tea is part of National Volunteer Week Te Wiki Tūao ā-Motu, which is run by Volunteering New Zealand, Tūao Aotearoa. The Big Shout Out to volunteers is part of this initiative.

The We Thank You – E mihi nui ana! morning tea will be hosted by the Mayor at the Waihinga Centre in Martinborough on Tuesday 24 June.

“The We Thank You – E mihi nui ana! morning tea is being held in Martinborough but this is a district wide gathering as we have sent invites to representatives from the district’s many volunteer groups. We can only host a portion of the huge number of volunteers in our district but we acknowledge and greatly appreciate the work of all our volunteers,” says Mayor Connelly.

National Volunteer Week’s 2025 theme is Whiria te tangata – weaving the people together.