Why Volunteering Makes A Difference

Hi, my name is Carolyn Macfarlane, a couple of years ago I went to a Black Barn concert that was a fundraising event for Brain Injury Association Hawke’s Bay. Unfortunately, poor ticket sales were not helped by the bad weather on the night and the fact my friend and I had been given complimentary tickets. Needless to say, the question on the night was if anyone could donate some time to help their marketing even it was for an hour a month so next time they can raise more money. Realising then that I couldn’t donate money at the time but could offer my time I thought it would be a great opportunity to give back to a worthwhile charity and in the long term save them money.

My first task was designing a new website for them to give them a more professional profile and enable them to receive donations from the site. I had a lot of satisfaction completing this project to go live.

I was really delighted when I was told they were being given a sponsorship car for 6 months and they had looked at the website which had helped them seal the deal.

Further to that, I have had the insight into how hard the people at Brain Injury Association Hawke’s Bay work to promote Brain Injury Awareness and just how many cases they are dealing with on a daily basis.

So I have learned that it’s a great feeling to help people in the community that wouldn’t otherwise have the assistance and it is an invaluable experience for me too and would encourage others to get involved too.