Family Support

Plunket was founded over 100 years ago by people who wanted to help others in their communities. Today, we have thousands of Kiwis who give their time, knowledge, skills and energy to support whānau around the country. We'd love for you to join them.

The Home Help service is looking for volunteers who want to make a significant difference for whānau and tamariki. When you volunteer with us, you will be connected with a family who have been referred for support. They could be struggling with post‑natal depression or anxiety, feeling overwhelmed and lacking their own family support, navigating illness or disability, or any other factor that adds difficulty to their experience of parenting young children.

You will visit this family once a week for six weeks, for a 1‑2 hour period, and help out with whatever will be most useful for them. For some families this will be household chores such as dishes, laundry and vacuuming, while for others it could be helping out with the children so parents can rest and take a break. Many parents also appreciate a kind and compassionate ear and some friendly companionship.

If support is still needed after the six‑week period visits may be extended, so flexibility is appreciated. Every family is different, therefore the tasks will vary depending on what support is needed or wanted by each individual family, but volunteers will need to be kind, understanding, non‑judgmental, and willing to help.

This is a great way to give back to the community and make a real difference for families! Becoming a home help volunteer is also an excellent opportunity for students in health, education and social work pathways to gain experience in the situations young families face.

Our clients describe the support they received through home help as "invaluable", "a real blessing", and "the difference between coping and not coping". Full training and ongoing support is provided by the coordinator, Josie. We are particularly in need of volunteers in the South Otago area.

We currently have a lot of student volunteers – it is amazing to have their support, but it is tricky during the holidays and semester breaks when everyone leaves at the same time, so we are not taking on any more student volunteers who are based out of town at the moment.

Category : Family Services

Commitment : Regular – more than 6 months

Type Of Work : Companionship & Social Support, Education & Training, Food Preparation & Service, Tutoring & Coaching

Time Required : 1.5-2 hours per week, for a 6 week block at a time

Training : Home Help volunteer training and Plunket policy (All in one)

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