< >

Project Friendship home

Each August people across New Zealand buy colourful hand-woven friendship bracelets to support the work of VSA volunteers in developing countries. VSA Project Friendship 2012 will run from 6-12 August. More details to follow in 2012.

Read our 2011 Project Friendship blogs

In 2011 three VSA UniVols blogged about their time on assignment especially for Project Friendship. Check out what they did here.

Mattie Geary Nichol

Tom Murray

Catherine van Gessel

Last year we raised almost $80,000. This year people were able to buy the $3 bracelets from The Body Shop and Levi stores throughout New Zealand, and 99 Four Square stores in the lower North Island.

Project Friendship 2011 once again focused on youth. The money raised will support VSA volunteers working with young people who are educating other young people, working to look after their environment, or bringing communities together through sport.

Returned VSA volunteer Nicholas Latty speaks about Project Friendship at Coastal Taranki School, Okato

Returned VSA volunteer Beulah Edwards Speaks about Project Friendship at Casebrook Intermediate, Christchurch

Take the Volunteer Challenge!

Why not take Project Friendship to the next level by getting involved in the Project Friendship Challenge? It’s a great way to show your friendship and really understand what it’s like to be a VSA volunteer.

Volunteering is all about making friends and sharing your skills with others. Think about the skills you have and how you can be a true friend and share those with people in your school or local community. You could volunteer to help in the library, weed and water gardens, walk dogs, run a reading group or sports skills session for younger students, the possibilities are endless. Project Friendship Challenge can be done as individuals, a class project or the whole school.

Get your family and friends to sponsor you and the money your school raises will help VSA send more volunteers to countries like Vanuatu, Cambodia and Tanzania to share their skills with local communities to help children just like you.