Fun times too at CAB

Rani Timoti from Helensville Citizens Advice Bureau

Many assume Citizens Advice Bureau volunteers have to deal and solve all the problems and woes of the world.
But at Helensville, we also have lots of laughs, plenty of smiles and heartfelt satisfaction in helping our clients.
Consumer issues vary each week at our bureau where our friendly volunteers meet and greet clients.
Whatever the enquiry, there is always an answer, clarifying information or a referral to help.
Helensville CAB also helps with tourist information and we have a number of national and international visitors grace our historic township.
Some of our cases this summer which bring a smile to everyone’s faces have included:
An Israeli tourist who did not understand English coming in and waving his arms around and repeating the word “bird”. One of our volunteers who lives in Muriwai immediately recognised his description and started waving her arms around too saying “gannets!” They both laughed and she gave him a brochure of Muriwai where the gannet colony is one of the top visiting sites in Auckland. He nodded with approval and excitement and flew out the door with gusto!
Other visitors have been amazed at the unique flavour of Helensville as they’ve walked down our streets and wanted to know more it and our surrounding areas.
Our proud volunteers who live and breathe in this region have been a fountain of local knowledge and given visitors a much more broader and richer scope than all the brochures available to them.
In the last six months we’ve had 39 enquiries relating to tourism and NZ travel including accommodation.
The Helensville Citizens Advice Bureau is located at 27 Commercial Rd and is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm. The bureau offers free confidential and impartial information to all her visit, phone or email us. Phone 09 4207162 or email helensville@cab.org.nz for your enquiries.