Volunteer Week
This Week is Volunteer Week!
Thank you to every single person in our community who takes time to care for others by giving of their efforts, skills and resources. Volunteers often work tirelessly and do it without payment. They show love and kindness, compassion and a sense of sharing, mercy and grace.
A BIG SHOUT OUT TO EVERYONE WHO VOLUNTEERS. How about you use this post to give thanks and pay tribute to those you know who volunteer in any way, shape or form. Like a Good Sorts Post! They might be currently active. They might be retired but you are thankful for what you saw them doing. They might no longer be with us but their memory and what they did is something you would like to honour.
I will start:
* I want to honour all the parents who go into schools to help out with reading, sharpening pencils, school trips and camps, looking out for kids and providing a uniform when they see someone is without or the parent who sends along extra lunch to share for kids who don't have any. (I know schools say not to, but I was never good at following those kinds of rules and neither were my kids, if a kid is hungry and they have no lunch, too bad, I sent extra sandwiches to share...sshhh no growling me!) And the parents who coach sports teams - you ROCK! And the parents who look out for other parents and go out of their way to make friends, so that they feel supported and welcome. Susan Brown, Lisa Reeves, Paula Richardson, Claire Barlow, Adele Stuart, Rona Akkerman (sorry about the spelling not sure there), Julie Norris, Benji Carey-Smith, Val Baker, Simon Moffit, Coach Moore for Soccer, Craig who has done the Gymnastics at the Hastings Gym Club, Peter Alexander, Sasha Watt, ... oh my the list goes on for me! Huge thanks to you and the many others who volunteered to help my kids and other kids!
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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85.5% Yes
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13.4% No
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
Cleaning a heat pump
Hi everyone. Can anyone recommend a reliable and reasonable company to clean our heat pump. We used it on cold for a couple of days and when turning it back to warm it has a smell. We get it serviced yearly but the firm we use is expensive.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.