VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH – WINNER JANUARY 2022 .

Brodie Bellingham –  Multiples Otago 

Nominated by –  Elyse Blacow – Multiples Otago

What Elyse had to say …

Brodie joined the Committee as our only official Committee Dad when his Partner Hayley returned to work. They switched positions at home, and now share the role of New Parent Coordinator within the Club. Brodie champions the role of “Dad” for our Members. He is front and centre at Playgroups and events.

He is the epitome of “making time” for members often answering the calls of any one of our whānau when needing something at short notice. Brodie is positive, thoughtful and as a Dad of Multiples he adds a whole other layer of thought, process and opinion to our community. Brodie is everything a club could want and then some.

We feel teamwork and community are forefront in the Bellingham/Bomford household with the added bonus of Brodie’s creative problem solving skills and can-do attitude the Club just flows. How lucky are we!

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH – WINNER DECEMBER 2021 .

Christine Pugh –  Wellington Multiples 

Nominated by –  Amy Teague – Wellington Multiples

What Amy had to say …

Christine is a truly committed volunteer. She is meticulously organised and has revamped the equipment hire process. It’s so streamlined now that it is half the task it once was and I know she has one more change to make to further streamline the whole process. She’s a playgroup regular and is always so inviting to the new members. Her boys are a delight at playgroup too! She even brings the morning tea at times and is happy to step in to open or close when our playgroup coordinator can’t make it. This year she has provided some great events even working around Covid restrictions and doing everything possible to ensure we get a wonderful calendar of events for our members. This years photo shoot again sparked some renewals proving what a hit Christine has made that event. I personally love the way Christine runs it. So easy for members and the photographer she has made a deal with is excellent. The Christmas party was sensational! I’ve had several members reach out to pass on thanks. There was a soft space for babies, a magician, bouncy castles, face painting, a bubble show and of course Santa. She planned it all; although she would say she had help. It all went brilliantly. Of course the committee pitched in on the day but Christine was the driving force, the glue and the fun. She even made wrapping all the gifts fun (her husband chipped in too and we had a lovely evening sharing twin takes). Christine is a wonderful volunteer who puts her all into what she does. Even as her boys creep toward school age and she needs the club less, she still brings the same energy. A fabulous volunteer.

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH – WINNER NOVEMBER 2021 .

Elizabeth O’Brien –  Wellington Multiples 

Nominated by – Georgie Manning – Wellington Multiples & Amy Teague – Wellington Multiples

What Georgie had to say …

Liz joined our committee at the same time I did over 3years ago when both our sets of twins were just a couple of months old. She has held the secretary role during this time as well as membership and New arrivals. Liz is the (not-so) secret mum of our committee – her lovely house has become home base for meetings and planning days and she feeds and waters us while keeping us organised and on task. Without her encouragement and support I would not have taken on the presidency role. She is the cool cucumber to my excited management style. I am grateful to her nearly every day for how she has empowered our committee members with confidence to shake off “rusty can” moments and reshape their own roles. She is an ADMIN QUEEN! In her time she has overhauled our shared drive and countless docs and spreadsheets and processes so that everyone else’s admin load is greatly reduced. Every year she has assisted membership renewals and continues to help refine the process. She has recently let us know that she needs to leave our committee to dedicate more time to burgeoning work commitments and has already begun a shadow training our new secretary 6 months out from our AGM to ensure a seamless handover. I nominated her for volunteer of the year in our first year volunteering together and every lovely thing I said then still stands +1000 more thank yous for the huge heart, passion and organisation she has bought to our committee. She will leave a big gap but also an epic legacy and I am a better volunteer for knowing her and working alongside her. Thanks Liz, you’re a superstar AND a super mum!

What Amy had to say …

Liz has committed four years to this club. She has been fundamental in revitalising playgroup when her duo were young (with a great team of course). She has juggled twin parenting, a job and supporting her husband build a great business, all with a smile. She is an all round great support, she was my buddy when I joined the club and I loved hearing from her and getting support from a twin mum who’d survived the first year, seemingly unscathed. She has been secretary for 2 years (maybe more) and has kept the rest of us organised to keep us moving toward our shared goals. She has also done the new arrivals role for at least that long and did membership before I came onboard (with her encouragement). She held 3 or more roles at one time and kept them all running (then gave me a great handover and easy process to manage). A gold star volunteer who doesn’t just do her job well but also helps the rest of us succeed. Liz has dedicated countless hours of her busy life to support our committee, our community and the many friends she’s made along the way. I’m pleased to call her a friend, and privileged to have had her guidance when I joined as a volunteer. Every club needs a Liz.