After two years of postponements, we finally gathered around 70 of our volunteer leaders in Christchurch for our National Hui and Training Weekend from October 28-30.
Having so many Belly-fillers together in one place to learn, reconnect and share was beyond valuable. We are all home again with a skip in our steps and even more passion for our mahi, filling bellies of whānau who need support.
Our weekend was a whirlwind of speakers, workshops, planning, learning, awards and just simply being able to chat with each other in person. Our leaders have been able to get to know one another, share ideas and take new and renewed friendships and connections back to their branches.
We w
ere lucky enough to host our National Hui and Training Weekend at the stunning Christchurch City Libraries facility Tūranga. It was the perfect venue, with excellent facilities and a great location. Our use of the Tautoro / TSB Space was funded by Christchurch City Council – we greatly appreciate the support and are full of love for Ōtautahi.
We had three excellent guest speakers, who gave us plenty to mull over. Thank you to Chris Beardsley (pictured left) from Performance Matters for a thought-provoking session on conflict management, Ged Robinson from the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience for his very useful session on managing stress, and our translator and consultant Taurapa who gave us a powerful grounding in using te reo.
Having such high-calibre speakers was only possible thanks to a donation from our CRM-provider Infoodle. The Infoodle team is always so helpful to Bellyful already – this added support really is the icing on the cake! Thank you.
We are grateful to the branch leaders who shared their expertise in various areas, and to our staff and Trustees who led some fantastic sessions. We also had the chance to together farewell our General Manager Wendy Thompson, who is about to retire and go off on a multitude of adventures.
A special thank you to Kylie Wright (in the middle, on the photo to the right), from our National Hui and Training Weekend’s main sponsor the Wright Family Foundation, who so generously took time away from her whānau to speak at the event.
Our volunteers loved hearing Kylie’s own heartfelt story, and what led her to us – as both a volunteer and a supporter.
Thank you so much to the Wright Family Foundation for being our key sponsor and supporting our hui, and for your fantastic ongoing support of our Tauranga branch.
This National Hui and Training Weekend would not have been possible without all our funders and sponsors. Thank you to The Good Registry, The Lottery Grants Board, Wellington Community Fund, Anthony Harper, COGS, Infoodle, Z Energy, Coherent Digital Printing, Fidelity Life, John Ilott Charitable Trust, Westpac and Christchurch City Council. You are amazing!
Goody Bags of Goodness
An absolute highlight for our volunteers was receiving the most amazing goody bags. Our volunteers do so much for their communities, filling bellies and making a difference across the motu.
We wanted to do something to say thank you during our National Hui and Training Weekend. So we asked around and these fabulous businesses donated these lovely items for our absolutely epic goody bags, to pamper our volunteers:
Thank you to Anthony Harper, Ᾱrepa, Barker’s of Geraldine, Beyond Soap, CaliWoods, ChristchurchNZ, EcoRoll, Ethique, Exult, Fidelity Life, Good Buzz Kombucha, Harraways, Infoodle, Mary Gray Confections, Naturo Pharm, Nestlé, Panna Soaps, Pete’s Natural, Thrive and Woman magazines, Trade Aid New Zealand, Weleda, Westpac, Wright Family Foundation, Zealandia Honey and Zoono.
Some special thank yous
Our volunteer leaders stayed at ibis Christchurch and we’d like to thank the staff for being incredibly helpful and going above and beyond. It was a perfect location for us all to rest our heads, grab brekky together and host our welcome event. Thank you!
The delicious lunches and morning and afternoon teas were whipped up by Catering Belle and were super yummy! We are grateful to Anthony Harper who sponsored the lunches. Thanks to Peony Haven for donating beautiful peonies and to Gunn’s Flowers and Foliage for the gerberas which brightened up the room.
We had two amazing volunteer photographers, Alix and Jane, who gave up their time to collect images which will allow us to remember our weekend forever. We are so grateful!
And finally, a special thank you to three incredible women: Jill, Alison and Karen. Among them they helped pack goody bags, set up the venue and manage all the food organisation and clean up during our hui – and all the other behind-the-scenes bits and pieces that are needed to make an event like this possible. Thank you, you are superstars!
