Rotorua Christmas Appeal supported by Hospice volunteers

Volunteer services manager Sue Gunn. Photo / Andrew Warner

Even on a day about acknowledging the contribution Hospice volunteers make, the generous group was still giving back.

Sixty-six Rotorua Community Hospice volunteers gathered at the Millennium Hotel yesterday for the annual volunteers' Christmas party.

As they trickled in, the volunteers dropped food and children's toys into large boxes. The donations are being given to the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal for Salvation Army Rotorua.

Volunteer services manager Sue Gunn said the volunteers never stopped giving.

"They are only too happy to make a donation to the Christmas appeal. They donate a huge amount of their time and they do it because it's something they really want to do.

"They are very generous people."

Gunn said the day was also a chance for volunteers from different areas of the organisation to come together. The volunteers had been given a Christmas gift and gone in the draw to win a night for two at the Millennium Hotel.

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Gunn said the volunteers knew the importance of giving back.

"There are always people that are worse off than us. These people all have done a lot with their lives and want to give back to the community and there's just so much need," she said.

"It's nice that even when we are all having fun we can still give back."

As of midday on Friday $3904 worth of food and gifts had been donated to the appeal.

The big fundraiser for the appeal, Fill the Bus, is this Wednesday and the full schedule has been released.

Last year, Fill the Bus alone saw more than $11,000 worth of donations.

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