Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background

Hiya! I'm Araina, I study at Victoria University of Wellington doing a Bcom and a Bsc. My interests are around the area of innovation, entrepreneurship, design and travel! I love all things creative, a good cuppa coffee and going on adventures!

What volunteer opportunities have you been involved in or are you currently involved in?

SPCA
Red Cross
Peer tutoring
Youth leader - Life church
Young Adults leader - Arise Church
Ignite consulting
Social media, graphic design and content curation for a few organisations
Young enterprise mentor
Enterprise in Action Alumni
Write content for the US embassy Youth Councillor
Wrote an article for Tearway Youth magazine and Idealog

Why do you volunteer?

“I believe volunteering is one of the most rewarding things someone can do, one because it is giving back to others, the community etc, and two because it helps refine the skills that I have acquired and helps me become autonomous in that. ”

I have a passion to see others come to realise their potential and then help them strive to work towards it. Hence a lot of my voluntary experiences have been with youth development. However, in terms of volunteering for organisations it's the same, I love being a part of their journey and working alongside them to develop one area of their organisations to help them strive to achieve those goals. I believe volunteering is one of the most rewarding things someone can do, one because it is giving back to others, the community etc, and two because it helps refine the skills that I have acquired and helps me become autonomous in that. Volunteering is truly a win-win partnership for both me and the organisation/person/job I'm volunteering for.

Who is your biggest hero or inspiration?

My family inspire me the most!!

What is your mantra or what is the most important value you live by?

Capacity is a mindset. There is always time and room for growth. Get comfortable in the uncomfortable, because that is where you're going to grow the most. In order to lead well, you have to first be able to understand what it means to serve others.

What do you love about Collaborate?

I love that Collaborate pairs volunteers with organisations not just for opportunities but opportunities that match skills and interests of the volunteer. I think this again is that win-win partnership, because they focus not only on providing organisations with volunteers, but they focus on providing their volunteers with opportunities that are going to grow them, refine their skills and also be fun for their volunteer. Collaborate are not just about the numbers, they are all about the volunteers and the organisations' experiences!