'A family thing': What drives three Tauranga brothers to spend their free time helping others

Brothers Ethan Peeters, 22, Aaron Peeters, 23, and Levi Peeters, 19, all volunteer for different first response codes as well as Tauranga Coastguard. Photo / George Novak

If you find yourself in dire need of emergency help in Tauranga, there's a good chance you'll encounter one of the Peeters brothers.

Levi, Aaron and Ethan Peeters cover four of the city's main emergency response codes - all in their own spare time.

Levi, 19, volunteers as a firefighter at Tauranga station; Aaron, 23, volunteers as part of the local Civil Defence Response Team while also training to become a Tauranga firefighter; and Ethan volunteers as a St John first responder.

All three brothers also volunteer as Tauranga Coastguard crewmen, along with their dad Sunny.

"Dad was a police officer. Mum was a nurse. So there's a bit of a community aspect that's coming through the family there," Aaron said.

"As well, when we first started volunteering with the Coastguard, that was a family thing."

The Kiwi family travelled around South East Asia helping non-government organisations for several years before putting down roots in Tauranga in 2015.

Signing up to the Tauranga Coastguard was one of the first things the family did, and they did it all together, Aaron said.

"There's something to be said for ... looking out to the harbour and knowing I've got a part to play," Aaron said.

Brothers Ethan Peeters, 22, Aaron Peeters, 23, and Levi Peeters, 19, all volunteer for different first response codes as well as Tauranga Coastguard. Photo / George Novak

"I'm contributing to a field where I can actually bring some skills to the table and be professional in what we do. It's cool to be part of that team, learning the skills and working on them together."

The Peeters brothers also work full-time. Levi is employed as a firefighter at Tauranga Airport, Aaron is a shipping co-ordinator at the Port of Tauranga and Ethan works as a machinery operator at the port.

Through careful rostering the brothers generally avoided being overworked, and all three were also fitting in training sessions for a 12-hour mountain bike race.

Levi said their energy for volunteering came from their passion for teamwork and community.

"That's where we come from as a family - whether to serve, it's a really satisfying feeling," he said.

"My choice in career really came from just wanting to be part of a team and wanting to contribute to that team. And also help with not just response but those [people] recovering. FENZ [Fire and Emergency New Zealand] is really pushing on that."

He said he had always been interested in helping people medically.

"I've always wanted to help people who need it the most. St John fits with that. It's an amazing group of people that you get to work alongside and learn from.

"When we joined Coastguard, it was a family thing. We wanted to do it together and as a team, Coastguard is a nice fit."

About 1.2 million people volunteer in New Zealand every year. National Volunteer Week will wrap up tomorrow..

Volunteering - by the numbers

New Zealand is a leading nation in the contribution made by volunteers. A 2013 study of the New Zealand non-profit sector estimated that volunteers contributed more than 157 million unpaid hours of work valued at over $3.5 billion to non-profit organisations.
Source - Volunteering New Zealand