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Make a difference

Be involved with your community; develop new skills; establish new friendships - put your time and talents to good use by working with Age Concern.

Your help is always needed. Behind the scenes or in the forefront, you can make a difference in the lives of others. You can help Age Concern to serve the needs of older people:

  1. Volunteer
  2. Join SeniorVoice ReoKaumātua
  3. Speak out  – ask our 4 key questions – read our briefings to Ministers

Volunteer

When you're looking for volunteer opportunities, becoming an Age Concern volunteer is an excellent choice, for you and for older people.

Volunteers ensure that important Age Concern services are available to older people in their communities. We have opportunities where you can put your time, skills and experience to good use. These include many ways you can provide support to older people in your community including Age Concern’s Accredited Visiting Service, Meals on Wheels (limited availability), and local initiatives.

You can decide whether you'd like to work directly with people being served or behind the scenes helping to establish, plan, and support local Councils.

Age Concern governance

People who apply for and are voted into key volunteer leadership positions are helping to guide, shape, and advance their local Age Concern's services to older people in your locality.

Age Concern offers opportunities where you can apply a variety of leadership and support skills, at the local Council level and ultimately in Age Concern New Zealand’s Board.

Together, Age Concern volunteers and staff are working to serve the needs of older people. You can too!

SeniorVoice ReoKaumātua

SeniorVoice is your opportunity to voice your opinions and views on selected matters of concern to people aged 65 and up.
It's a consultative panel that we can use to ask you, and hundreds of other New Zealanders, for comment on issues so Age Concern New Zealand can formulate positions and speak out with confidence.

If you decide to join, we'll be in touch about once a month by email to ask a few questions on a topical issue. If it's a media request, we may need the results quickly so the deadline will often be the same day.

We'll keep you informed on the results, and other Age Concern initiatives for older people.

CLICK HERE to Contact Age Concern to apply to join SeniorVoice

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Be active – speak out

Keep informed and involved on political issues at local and national levels. Age Concern New Zealand has four key questions we are asking government:

1. Income:
A single person on NZ Super currently receives 27.5% less than the minimum wage.
What will you increase NZS to?

Many older people have only NZS to live on and they are struggling.
How will you help them cope with increasing costs of living, including rates, energy, and carbon taxes?

2. Health:
Older people are suffering unnecessarily as a result of elective surgery waiting lists and cuts to home support services.
What will you do to help them?

When ears, eyes and teeth stop working well, quality of life often suffers dramatically.
What will you do for older people who are having trouble affording hearing aids, eye care and dental care?

3. Attitudes:
If adequate funding were provided, more Age Concerns could be preventing elder abuse and neglect. Older people in 12 key areas are being denied the protection they deserve.  (7 areas are completely without services and 5 are underfunded for population).
Will you help fill these gaps?

4. Isolation:
Social isolation can have serious health consequences –worse than smoking, new research shows. If adequate funding were provided, more Age Concerns could be reducing serious social isolation among older people.
Will you make this happen?

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Briefings to Ministers

Our Briefings aim to —

  • alert Ministers to key issues for older New Zealanders
  • explain what Age Concern is doing to make a difference
  • encourage Ministers to support us in our work for older people

Minister for Senior Citizens (updated May 2010)

Minister of Health (updated April 2010)

Minister for Social Development

[All PDF files, each 0.02MB]

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Resources

CLICK HERE to Contact Age Concern to talk about volunteering

CLICK HERE to Contact Age Concern to talk about the Accredited Visiting Service
 

30 Jul 2010