During this National Volunteer Week (15-21 June 2025), we’re celebrating all our wonderful AFS volunteers.
On today’s blog, we look at Ken’s story, who has been an AFS volunteer for many decades, and whose volunteering journey has called on his talents as a car mechanic as well as an educator – and everything in between!
Volunteering at Different Life Stages
As we progress through different stages in our lives, things change. The demands on our time change. Our priorities change. We change.
That’s why volunteering in our 20s can look quite different to volunteering in our 40s or in our 60s. Volunteering may look different for someone with a young family, as opposed to a single adult. We may have lots of time to give during certain years, and very little during other parts of our lives.
Ken started volunteering for AFS when he and his wife hosted their first student. They went on to host many more, and Ken held a flurry of roles in his local chapter (including school liaison, family interviews, chapter president, orientation camps). During this time, he was also the president of the local Rotary Club.
At AFS, Ken was a key part of some new programme trials (a Rugby progamme in the Waitaki region and a group boarding school programme at Waitaki Boys’ High School), dedicated a huge amount of time to the restoration of the AFS Ambulance (more on that later!), and also did a two-year stint on the AFS NZ Board.
Volunteering has changed for Ken over the years, depending on availability, interests and the need of the organisation. One thing has remained constant: Volunteering has been and still is a big part of Ken’s life. In his own words, he has ‘lived and breathed AFS for most of his 56-year so far teaching career’.
Volunteering Draws on Many Talents
Most volunteer organisations have an obvious volunteer profile. Animal shelters will need people willing and able to look after animals, community law centres will need lawyers and AFS needs volunteers to help support our students at orientation camps and throughout their programmes.
However, most organisations also have a need for volunteers of many different talents and backgrounds. These roles may be a lot less obvious, but are just as important!
At AFS, in addition to camp facilitators and student support volunteers, we need help with organising community events, school presentations, airport duty, drivers, social media content, grant applications and much more.
Even if your experience or interests don’t match the most obvious need of an organisation, don’t think you’ve got nothing to offer! It is often the most unexpected talents that are of immense value.
As a teacher, Ken was always an obvious choice for roles like school liaison and orientation facilitator. When he first got involved, he probably would not have imagined that he would spearhead a two-year restoration project of the AFS Ambulance!
The WW1 ambulance replica Ford Model T was lovingly built by volunteers for the AFS NZ 50th anniversary celebrations in 1997. 19 years later, Ken saw the need for a cosmetic upgrade and undertook a two-year project. This involved many hours of research, manual labour, care and attention – at times hindered by logistical difficulties. (Did someone forget to tell Ken that the Ambulance had been shipped across the Cook Strait and was waiting for him to pick it up?! Was this in the middle of winter, and did the frost cause some further damage to the Ambulance, setting back the repair efforts?!)
Ken persevered, and the Ambulance is once again looking in good shape and proudly represents AFS’s long history as a peace organisation.

The Gift of Your Time Makes a Difference
In 2017, Ken was awarded Life Membership of AFS New Zealand. Life Membership is awarded to Members of AFS in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the organisation over an extended period of time, and Ken is a prime example of this.
Volunteer organisations, like AFS, acknowledge that volunteering isn’t a ‘one size fits all’. Trends like micro volunteering and flexible volunteering are growing and emphasize the need to meet volunteers where they’re at, whatever stage of life that may be.
We celebrate and thank all our volunteers. The gift of your time is invaluable to our organisation.
We understand that not everyone has the same amount of time to give, and this may change as you journey through life.
Just know that your gift will always be noticed and appreciated!
Interested in becoming an AFS volunteer?
Find out more and get in touch!