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Playcentre Media Releases
For further information or to submit a media release please contact the Federation Media Contact, at,
media@playcentre.org.nz
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National News
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| Playcentre says \'thanks\' to all its volunteers | | 24th Nov 2008 | Friday 5 December is International Volunteer Day, and Playcentre wants to say 'thanks' to all the many thousands of volunteers who make community parent-led early education possible all round the country.
Playcentre runs nearly 500 early childhood centres around New Zealand catering for over 15,000 children, and almost everything, including the teaching, management, and administration are done by volunteers.
Parents work in cooperative groups to run play sessions for local children, and many parents whose own children have gone on to school stay on to help part-time with management or advice.
“Volunteers are the lifeblood of Playcentre. We would literally not exist without the thousands of volunteers who work together each day and week to create our unique education environment for families with young children,” said Playcentre Federation President, Marion Pilkington.
One of the key features in Playcentre is that it is the parents working together in groups who are the teachers of children on session. Every parent brings their own rich experience, and this is supported by courses in early teaching which are provided free by the Playcentre Associations.
Recent research showed that over 2000 volunteer hours per year are put into running each Playcentre outside of session time, including volunteering at both Centre and Association level. These hours cover a huge range of tasks that other early childhood centres can pay people to deliver.
Other research conducted by Massey University in 2005, on the social capital developed at Playcentre, showed that parents develop skills and capabilities which they then transfer to other volunteer or workforce roles in their communities.
“We want to say a huge 'thank you' to the many current and past Playcentre members, who believed in community parent-led education enough to give their time and talents, so that this is still a choice for parents today,” said Mrs Pilkington.
ENDS
Contact for Media: Maureen Woodhams, NZ Playcentre Federation Media Officer. 04 934 5244, 027 4041223, media@playcentre.org.nz
For further information on volunteers at Playcentre see the report “Supporting Playcentre in the 21st Century” which can be downloaded from - www.playcentre.org.nz/research.php)
For further information on the social capital development of Playcentre volunteering see the report “NZPF Final Report – Nov 05” which can be downloaded from http://education.massey.ac.nz/massey/depart/education/staff/adhe/powell-kimberley.cfm |
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