No experience is required. Our volunteers come from a diverse range of backgrounds, professions, and ages, and possess variety of skills and experiences. A volunteer needs to be willing to follow instructions and to abide by the values, vision and mission of Visionwest.

Volunteering is a great opportunity to make a positive impact in your community, be part of a team, learn new skills, and develop friendships.

All volunteer applicants are required to complete a Volunteer Application Form and a vetting form (either a Police Vetting Form or a Ministry of Justice form depending on the nature of the volunteer position). Some convictions will disqualify an applicant from proceeding.

The application form requires the naming of at least two character referees. These need to be people who know you well enough to give a brief assessment of you as a person. They do not need to be people you have worked for or with.

If approved to commence volunteer work, you will be required to sign a Volunteer Agreement.

This depends on the time taken to receive results from the vetting check. Vetting results can take up to four months to be processed.

Normally we would ask for a regular commitment of at least once per week. The Pātaka Kai hours are Tuesday to Friday 12pm – 2pm.

Yes, we are happy for a volunteer to work for us short term but remember to apply in plenty of time to enable the vetting check to be completed prior to starting.

We value our volunteers greatly but are unable to make payments of any sort. We do, however, celebrate our volunteers each year with a special end of the year event.