Volunteer of the Month 2025
December 2025
Vanessa Fox, Pyes Pa Playcentre
We’d like to nominate Vanessa Fox for Volunteer of the Month on behalf of the team at Pyes Pa Playcentre. Vanessa is the absolute heart of our Playcentre and she so deserves to be nominated for this award.
Over the years Vanessa has been Bicultural Officer, President and now is heading the Community and Grants area. Her latest project is to develop a proper ORCHARD for our centre. She has single handedly organised plans, got these approved, sourced and met with landscapers and designers, applied for grants, gained amazing donations, got her hands dirty on numerous occasions, bargained for mulch, and overcome many hiccups along the way. She has weaved together a sense of community by bringing the local school along for the ride and including them in the planting and ongoing care of the orchard, something to share with us at Playcentre and deepen the community links between us.
Vanessa (a self described ‘active relaxer’) not only gets things done, she’s also knowledgeable on every Playcentre related subject, she is approachable and will stop what she’s doing to help out or find the information we need. She sets up incredible activities for our tamariki all the time and has a passion for process cooking – giving our children awesome baking opportunities whilst keeping a serene exterior amongst the chaos! Another above and beyond example of her excellency is setting up an incredible weather station for our rural centre. Vanessa organises excursions, fundraisers, sprays lawns, gets up in the roof, organises tree removals and is steadily working towards her Level 4 certificate on top of her very busy schedule.
None of us at Pyes Pa can imagine Playcentre without Vanessa, she makes time for everyone and is often a sounding board to many of us on all things imaginable. She is kind. Her heart and soul goes into Playcentre and we very much hope she will receive this title as there truly isn’t anyone who deserves it more.
Thank you
Becky and Latetia
Pyes Pa Playcentre Presidents
November 2025
Judy Bretherton from Whitianga Playcentre
I am writing on behalf of the Core Team at Whitianga Playcentre to nominate Judy for volunteerof the month. Although Judy is no longer able to attend Playcentre with her youngest grandchild due to health reasons, her lasting impact on our community and her unwavering commitment to the Playcentre is something we feel should be recognized.
For many years, Judy was a cornerstone of Whitianga Playcentre. She was always an active member, making invaluable contributions to our sessions, and providing exceptional support to fellow members. Her positive energy and dedication never went unnoticed.
Even though she is unable to be as physically present now, Judy’s contribution continues. For at least the last five years, she has taken on the responsibility of doing all the grocery shopping and laundry for the Playcentre every single week. Her devotion to ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes has been a huge support to our team, and we truly couldn’t have done it without her.
Judy has always embodied the spirit of community, and it’s clear that her desire to contribute to Playcentre has never wavered, despite her current health challenges. We believe that she deserves recognition for her dedication, hard work, and the positive influence she has had on our Playcentre.
Thank you for considering Judy for this nomination. We are incredibly grateful for everything she has done and continues to do.
Yours sincerly
Emma Curtis
Whitianga Playcentre President
October 2025
Catherine Brophy (Cat) from Ōkato Playcentre
Catherine Brophy (Cat) of Ōkato Playcentre has been the financial engine treasurer extraordinaire for us all! Not only has Cat been an outstanding Mum of three busy boys (they have all been through / are enrolled at Ōkato Playcentre), running her household and farm, she has been a constant welcoming presence and overall brilliant Kaiako!
She quietly kept Ōkato Playcentre rolling with her encouragement to fellow members to join Playcentre education, get involved and join centre meetings! The Brophy whānau have had a big few years, and through it all, while she could not be physically present, you could always count on Cat to sort and approve payments, send through monthly treasury reports and offer her guidance and support. I cannot thank her enough!
Many hours of her spare time were spent refreshing the centre, one area of play at a time. You can see the love put into each label on the carpentry corner or beautiful finish in the puzzle area display!
Cat has successfully applied for many grants applications over the years. It’s a bittersweet time for her to hand over her role as treasurer, grants officer and to finally see a lot of planning over the years come to fruition.
I don’t know how to thank her enough… on behalf of all Ōkato members,
Ngā mihi nui koe Cat!
Ruby Anderson
Ōkato Playcentre Member
(Now Facilitator! Thanks to Cat for her encouragement over the years to join education and just do it).
September 2025
Francesse from Levin Playcentre
I’d like to nominate a grandmother at our centre (Levin Playcentre). Her name is Francesse and she has been here for all 3 of her grandchildren since they were babies, 2 have gone off to school and now the last one is almost 4.
She is the most deserving of this award, she steps up in every single aspect of playcentre and its values.
She’s at every meeting, she steps up for all of the office roles and is currently our president.
She comes on her days off just to do gardening, sweep the driveway, clean things or organise the art folders.
She also comes every week once a week, again on her days off, as a support for an autistic tamariki we have on session. She uses her free time fully to support our centre and the family in it. She was a teacher aide at other schools before playcentre and she could see this whanau needed help and support with their autistic child so she stepped up, on her own accord and now comes once a week just to support, monitor and encourage him and his mother.
She is kind, warm, funny and welcoming and a HUGE asset to our centre. The entirety of our centre would not run how it does if it were not for her.
She truly is the most deserving, as she is the most selfless lady we have ever met. Giving up her free time weekly just to continue helping playcentre and it’s whanau thrive. Always willing to lend a helping hand to everybody and never wants anything in return. She takes home our washing every week, she brings the mail in and the bins in, she takes the bins out, she does all of the small little things that are generally overlooked but vital at keeping our centre running the way it does.
She is so appreciated and valued here – hence my nomination for Francesse at Levin Playcentre.
Thanks,
Holly Roberts
August 2025
Megan Teitjen from Papamoa Playcentre
I would like to nominate Megan Teitjen for Volunteer of the Month in recognition of her outstanding dedication and initiative at Papamoa Playcentre.
Megan consistently goes above and beyond to support our centre. She takes the initiative to create clear, practical cheat sheets whenever confusion arises, helping to streamline our processes and support whānau confidence. Her ability to anticipate potential challenges and implement solutions before they become problems is truly invaluable.
Recently, Megan has stepped up to ensure the continued running of Tamariki Nui during the search for a new session leader. Her commitment has not only provided vital support but has also helped create a rich and nurturing environment where our tamariki can thrive and be extended through thoughtful, engaging play.
Megan’s proactive, creative, and deeply supportive presence makes a lasting impact on our Playcentre community.
Kind regards,
Jen Hallot
July 2025
Sheryl Bennett from Whitianga Playcentre
We are pleased to nominate Sheryl Bennett for her outstanding contribution to Whitianga Playcentre. As a dedicated and proactive member of our community, Sheryl has gone above and beyond to support the smooth running of our centre and enrich the experiences of both tamariki and whānau.
Sheryl stepped in generously to help cover essential qualification certificates, ensuring continuity for our centre and enabling others to progress with their own learning. Her support in this area has been invaluable, helping us maintain a high standard of care and education.
She has taken initiative in organising materials for learning stories, collecting and bringing in inspiring resources to support invitations to play. Her creative and thoughtful contributions have brought new energy and engagement to our learning environment.
Additionally, Sheryl has been instrumental in tidying and organising various areas of the Playcentre, creating calm and functional spaces that reflect care and intentionality. Her attention to detail and willingness to pitch in wherever needed has not gone unnoticed.
Beyond her practical contributions, Sheryl consistently brings a positive and encouraging attitude that uplifts those around her. Her presence is a source of motivation and warmth for both children and adults alike.
We wholeheartedly commend Sheryl for her dedication, initiative, and the positive influence she brings to our Playcentre community.
Ngā mihi nui,
Emma, Jeanette, Siobhan, Rachel, Mia, Ria and Bex.
Whitianga Playcentre
June 2025
Kate Wimsett from Katikati Playcentre
I would love to put forward Kate Wimsett from Katikati Playcentre as Volunteer of the Month. She is the heart of our Playcentre and ensures every day that playcentre is set up with different play areas and everything behind the scenes is handled. She also covers off on all jobs assisting all the other mums teaching us along the way. She was also completing her level 4 qualification for playcentre while having three young kids and being the main organiser for functions, open days and more! She is an inspiration to all Katikati Playcentre Mums and we appreciate all her hard work.
Jo Stewart
Katikati Playcentre
May 2025
Dominique Chiu from Onehunga Playcentre
I would like to nominate one of our members, Dominique Chiu for her rangatiratanga/ leadership in our centre’s education programme. This is now her 4th term with us and she has already organised 3 PE Courses at our Centre. She is thriving through her education and motivating our new members to come along with her and to support each other in their learning. We are very thankful for her active and deep contribution.
Ngā mihi mahana
Emmanuelle Maucor
April 2025
La Ward from Ellerslie Playcentre
We would like to nominate La Ward from Ellerslie Playcentre for Volunteer of the Month.
La has been the glue holding together Ellerslie Playcentre for the last few years. She took on the coordinator role in 2022 until 2024, when the role was disestablished for a teams structure and in preparation for her son graduating this year. During this time, she often took on multiple roles, fielding enquiries and tasks on everything from visitors to health and safety, to enrolments, to communications, to events, etc. She is the fountain of knowledge for everything about our centre. Everyone’s default is ‘ask La’.
On top of the countless hours she has put in to ensuring our centre continues to operate and meet requirements, La puts in extra time in the afternoons, evenings and weekends thinking of ways to improve our centre, cleaning and organising, ideas for play, and doing amazing full centre setups for events such as Easter and Christmas. She has donated many items to the centre, from housekeeping items to toys, to books, and more.
What La is best at, though, is people. She does an amazing job of connecting with all people, understanding them, knowing about what is going on in their lives, following up on past conversations, knowing their interests, and acknowledging their contributions. She has been instrumental in welcoming new members to our centre and creating a village we are all proud to be a part of. She finds ways to support members in parenting, playcentre, and in general life. La is also our connection to our alumni, checking in with all of them on occasion, too.
All our tamariki are La’s biggest fans. They all want to play with her, give her things, tell her what is going on for them, and involve her in what they are doing. She has a genuine interest in each of the tamariki, asking them questions and often returning the next session with a little present, a question about their interest, a relevant book to loan them, or something else she thinks they will find interesting. She does a wonderful job of celebrating the tamarki, too. Often, La receives invitations to children’s birthday parties, independent of her son.
Our centre would not be thriving the way it currently is without La’s care, dedication, and commitment to the centre and its members. She will be sorely missed when she leaves later this year, but we know that she will never be far away when her people and village are still here.
Thanks
Angela on behalf of the Ellerslie Playcentre whānau
March 2025
Sarah Obata from Howick Playcentre
I’d like to nominate Sarah Obata from Howick Playcentre. Sarah has attended our centre since 2020, and from the moment she joined us, she was making active contributions to the running of our centre.
Sarah has an eye and ear for the operational and procedural side of things – a lot of the onerous and complex stuff that overwhelms and intimidates most members. She is our patient treasurer, repeating herself again and again to help us understand cash flow summaries. She has spent hours poring over grant applications, acquiring our centre vital resources we couldn’t afford to buy, and now oversees many of our officeholders as a team leader and part of our centre management team. On sessions, Sarah displays the knowledge and experience she’s gained from the many Playcentre courses she’s taken the time to attend.
We’re so grateful to have her and her tamariki as a part of our playcentre whānau, and think she is deserving of this award.
Rebekah Marcetic
Howick Playcentre
February 2025
Annette Brownlee from Eden-Epsom
Annette Brownlee has been coming to Eden-Epsom for 15+ years initially with her nieces and nephews and then as volunteer, now with her grandchildren and as a volunteer on days to help us license.
She has nurtured many children, buddied with them on independent sessions, given so many parent a wee break on tough days and kept our centre open five days a week.
On top of this she takes on many of the day-today tasks to keep the centre running including but in no way limited to doing the lawns, notified fire drills, pest control, goldfish care and pretty much anything that needs to be done around our centre. Not to mention the best cheese ball this side of the ‘90s.