Volunteering
Our volunteers play an important and vital role in our organisation and we are incredibly grateful for their dedication and contribution. We see volunteering with the City Mission as a great opportunity to build your skills, meet new people and make Ōtautahi a better place.
We have over 170 regular volunteers who generously support us across our services. They can be found in our Foodbank and Op Shops, teaching in our Learning and Development space, and cooking up a storm in our Emergency Accommodation facilities to name but a few.
Our volunteers are unified in their generosity and the simple fact that the City Mission couldn’t do without them.
Individual Volunteers
The Christchurch City Mission recognises that the gift of time and skills is invaluable. Without our volunteers, we would be unable to touch the lives of as many people as we do in as many ways as we do.
Volunteering with the Christchurch City Mission:
enables volunteers to contribute to their community
provides volunteers an opportunity for work experience and the development of new skills
enhances the range of services available through the City Mission.
allows for wider community participation in the organisation
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Christchurch City Mission. Volunteers must be 16 years of age or older, and we welcome those who are able to provide consistent, ongoing support. A minimum commitment of three months is required for individual volunteers. Please note that some roles require volunteers to be 18 years of age or older due to the nature of the work and health and safety requirements.
Our volunteer programme is often at capacity, and many of our roles fill quickly. However, we currently have a limited number of volunteer opportunities available and welcome expressions of interest from people who would like to join our team.
If you are interested in volunteering, please complete our Expression of Interest Form. We will review your application and contact you if there is a suitable opportunity available that matches your skills, interests, and availability.
Thank you for your understanding and support of the Christchurch City Mission.
Corporate Volunteer Groups
Many wonderful local organisations offer their teams the opportunity to spend a day or a couple of hours volunteering in the community. The Christchurch City Mission can accommodate small groups who want to support our community while having fun as a team.
Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Christchurch City Mission as a corporate group or organisation.
Our corporate and group volunteer opportunities are very popular and often book out well in advance. While we do have opportunities available throughout the year, places are limited and cannot always be guaranteed for preferred dates.
We encourage interested organisations and groups to complete our Corporate/Group Expression of Interest Form.
Thank you for your interest in supporting the Christchurch City Mission and the people we serve.
Share your specific skills and expertise
Do you have a special skill, talent, or area of expertise that you'd like to share with our community? We'd love to hear from you.
While many of our volunteer teams are often at capacity, we are currently seeking a Foodbank Driver for Wednesday mornings. This role involves collecting and delivering food donations. Experience driving a manual vehicle and a full driver’s licence is a must. Reliability, confidence driving, and the ability to work independently are important for this role.
We also welcome expressions of interest from people who believe they have a unique skill or experience that could benefit our community through workshops, presentations, or other volunteer contributions in the future.
If you are interested in the Wednesday morning Foodbank Driver role or would like to discuss another way you could contribute your skills and expertise, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@citymission.org.nz.
If volunteering is not the right fit at this time, one of the most valuable ways to support the Christchurch City Mission is through a financial or goods donation, helping us continue providing essential services to those in need.”
Other Ways to Help
Birthday Party Collection - Ask guests to bring in food or clothing donations for the City Mission at your birthday party, instead of presents. We can arrange a tour to show you (or your party) where the food goes once it’s donated.
Food and Donation Drives – Create an opportunity at your workplace or school to collect food and goods to donate to City Mission Foodbank or City Mission Op Shops.
For schools this could be a mufti, pyjama or dress-up day or any other idea where students bring in a can or item.
For workplaces this could be linked to an event already in the calendar such as a celebration, or could be created e.g. bring in the ingredients to your favourite meal, a challenge to see how many time you can fill our shopping list, or turn of the season donate related items.
You can find other ways to help on these pages: