Nothing happens without volunteers
Volunteer Taupō operations manager Phillip Purvis is ready to get stuck into his new job. Photo: Dan Hutchinson
Volunteer Taupō has appointed Phillip Purvis as its new operations manager.
By Dan Hutchinson
He replaces Julian Bishop who has moved to the board of VT, which has recently rebranded from Volunteer Great Lake Taupō.
Phillip brings decades of experience, including the last 23 years in France where he worked as a project manager for major sporting events.
Prior to that he helped manage access to stadiums for thousands of volunteers at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
He has family in Taupō and wants to build on the “energy and effort” that has already gone into building the organisation.
Volunteer Taupō serves as the primary link between local volunteers and community organisations needing assistance around the district.
"Our core role is to provide volunteers with opportunities and provide the organisations who have a need for volunteers or want to give people an opportunity to also get work experience on a voluntary basis.”
He says the organisation is still "fresh and young and new," which allows for building systems from the ground up rather than restructuring existing processes.
"We aren't burdened by a heavy structure; we can literally build from scratch."
He wants to expand on the popular Comavol event in September, which connects volunteers with local groups and extend it to include other areas within the district.
"When I first heard about Comavol, I said look, that's fantastic, we need to do that two or three times a year … It's communicating, connecting, recruiting."
Volunteer Taupō operates as a charitable trust so building a solid funding base is a priority.
The organisation focuses on not-for-profit groups but Purvis sees potential for expanding into internship-style volunteer opportunities.
"Volunteering is an excellent work experience dynamic nowadays. It's absolutely a part of tomorrow in terms of giving value for youth, for example, or those looking to career change."
The organisation maintains a presence at lots of community events, including this weekend’s Home and Garden Show.
The familiar Volunteer Taupō caravan has been out of action for repairs but will make a return for the show, giving a space for people to sit down and discuss opportunities.
"As soon as they come up to us, they're already opening the door to a potential volunteer experience. It's about them saying to us, ‘this is what I like, this is what I'm interested in’, and then we'll go and find a solution for them."
Purvis says there would be no sports clubs or events without volunteers.
Even major commercial events like Supercars or Ironman rely on volunteers.
"There doesn't exist an event that doesn't need volunteers. There's not an event in the world or sports organisation in the world that would exist if volunteers didn't exist."