Volunteering: It gives me purpose

Allan has been volunteering at Habitat’s Lincoln Street Reuse Centre in Hamilton for so long, he knows the ins and outs of pretty much everything. From working the counter to stocking shelves, sorting and labelling goods, and researching prices for rare and wonderful donated items.

His decision to start volunteering came off the back of a comment he made to someone while waiting in line as a customer.

“Someone was moaning about something, and I said to the person, ‘well, there’s a sign promoting for volunteers – if you’re moaning about something, do something about it!’. Then I thought, well, I’ve got nothing better to do, so I talked to the manager and I started the next day.”

Allan now helps out in store twice a week.

“It gives me purpose. It’s good that I can give back to the community, and I agree with a lot of what Habitat does.”

Allan describes the Reuse store as a “triple shot”, in that he can see three benefits it provides: it raises funds for Habitat, that in turn are used to support local people into decent housing, and it supplies affordable goods to the community.

As a homeowner himself, Allan says he can appreciate how Habitat helps people in need of a warm, dry, safe, and affordable place to call home. He says an added perk of volunteering at the Reuse store is it give him an excuse to go shopping.

“I get to see the stuff everyday I’m here and I’ve picked up all sorts of wonderful things.”

For anyone considering becoming a volunteer, Allan’s advice is simply, “do it!”.

“Don’t find excuses because you’ll always say, oh I need to trim my toenails or something. Commit to it and set aside the time.

“It isn’t a paying job but the reward is you’re giving back. And the feeling you get from it – you get a sense of achievement almost every time you come.”

Habitat’s Lincoln Street Reuse operates in partnership with EnviroNZ to divert goods from landfill while raising funds for Habitat’s housing programmes and initiatives.