Volunteer of the Month - Janet Wakeling

Janet Wakeling is Volunteer of the Month.

This month’s Volunteer of the Month has been awarded to Janet Wakeling by Volunteer Whanganui. Wakeling volunteers for Sustainable Whanganui and has been there for 18 months.

Whanganui Volunteer Centre manager Sandra Rickey presented Wakeling with a certificate, volunteer badge and Mud Ducks $40 voucher.

Wakeling started at Sustainable Whanganui with a three-hour shift on a Thursday afternoon and went on to volunteer on Tuesdays as well, then decided to open up the shop on a Saturday morning from 10am-1pm. This was when the shop was located at the Recycling Centre. There are seven volunteers at Sustainable Whanganui working on shifts.

“We shifted to Drews Avenue on May 13 this year and I just volunteer on Saturdays,” said Wakeling.

Known affectionately as “The Jar Queen”, Wakeling started with jars, sorting out bags of jars into various categories. “Because I’m into preserving and using jars a lot myself, people will come in wanting a certain size and I’ll know where they are and can offer advice,” she said.

“Some people don’t realise you can reuse the lids, with Agee jars it’s possible to reuse the seals.

“We have Eco products now, we can fill plastic containers customers bring along with dishwashing liquid, laundry powder and shampoos. My task every Saturday is to replenish the supplies in the shop. The containers aren’t going into landfills, they’re being reused,” she said.

Other items in the shop can be bought for a donation, including material, plant pots, egg cartons, newspapers, bubble wrap and ice cream containers. People are invited to bring in these items as well.

This is the first time Wakeling has tried volunteering, having worked up to retirement age running a lawns and gardens business in Whanganui. Before that, she had worked at the Hikurangi Rest Home. After three weeks of retirement, she decided to give volunteering a go.

Wakeling does her own preserves and has a stall at her house on the fence. “I was going to give that up, but everyone said ‘don’t’,” she said.