When visitors come to Christchurch, many explore the city’s sights, but for Andrea and her husband, a three-month stay became an opportunity to connect deeply with the local community.

“My husband and I are currently on a six-month stay in New Zealand from the UK. In October 2024, we moved to Christchurch for three months. We decided that we wanted to get involved with the local community rather than just be tourists. We used the Volunteering Canterbury website and ended up completing several different activities,” Andrea shares.

Through Volunteering Canterbury, Andrea and her husband were able to find meaningful ways to give back. One of their experiences included helping out at the Port Hills Polo Club for Ronald McDonald House Charities NZ. They also joined in Christmas gift wrapping at Merivale Mall for the Children’s Cancer Foundation. Beyond these one-off events, they committed to weekly shifts at the Arts Centre Shop and the Transitional Cathedral.

“These two regular commitments to volunteering meant that we met up with and got to know other volunteers who shared local knowledge with us. We learnt much about Christchurch and we met lots of tourists from all over the world. We felt welcomed and valued by the people we were volunteering with, and our time in Christchurch was a much more worthwhile experience than it would have been otherwise,” Andrea explains.

Volunteering Canterbury exists to make this kind of experience possible. By connecting people with local organisations, we help both visitors and locals make a genuine impact while building relationships and learning about the communities they are part of, even if only temporarily.

Andrea and her husband have since continued their journey across New Zealand. “We have now moved on to the North Island, but the time spent at the Arts Centre and the Transitional Cathedral and all the people we got to know in both places will remain with us forever.”