National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to recognise the work of volunteers in small communities like those such as Jan Collins, who saw a need for more support for people with cancer in Whangamatā.
Collins, along with a small but dedicated team of volunteers, joined forces with Cancer Society supportive care nurse Penny Parsons to set up a monthly support group on the third Monday of each month at Cornerstone House.
"My biggest challenge was (and still is) to get people to understand that it's not a group to talk about cancer – it's a group to help people feel positive," says Collins.
"We try to alternate it so it doesn't get boring. Every second month we'll have a morning tea and a speaker. Then every other month we'll go out for a coffee or think of something different to do. The idea of our group is to socialise. They get each others' phone numbers and help each other."
Collins has a long background in nursing, including a six-year stint in Papua New Guinea and then 20 years for the New Zealand Fire Service. She volunteers because she felt a calling to keep on helping.
