Student Volunteer Army’s Annual ‘City Care Connect the Community’ Event

This Saturday 23rd May, the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) with the support of City Care, will spend the day volunteering in the Christchurch community of Phillipstown.

Connect the Community has been SVA’s biggest event for the last two years, with a turnout of approximately 150 members each time. The first year SVA helped out in Burwood, and the second year in Riccarton/Ilam. This year City Care Connect the Community will be SVA’s primary event once again.

Lucy McLeod, President of the SVA, says, “Phillipstown has been through a tough time recently, especially with the closing of the Phillipstown Primary School, and SVA sees an opportunity to help a community in need. SVA wants to show Phillipstown that we care, and we want to re-engage the wider Christchurch community with this area.”

This event comes with good timing, as Phillipstown’s brand new Community Hub will be opened the same day. On Saturday after all the work has been completed SVA and the community will put on a barbeque for all the volunteers, and suburb’s residents.

This year City Care, which is SVA’s gold sponsor, will support the event. City Care’s Acting CEO Peter Lord says that the day of volunteering will see the relationship between the infrastructure management company and the SVA put into action.

“The City Care Connect the Community event in Phillipstown will be a great joint effort between City Care and the SVA. The way these young people mobilise their volunteers so effectively and enthusiastically to help others is really inspiring. Their vocation and values are a very close fit to City Care’s own hands-on approach, and we’re pleased to support them in the great work they do in the community.”

McLeod says that City Care’s sponsorship of SVA demonstrates how Christchurch organisations and individuals are able to partner together to create positive change within the city.

“This event really shows how different stakeholders in the community can band together to help a community in need, to show our solidarity and support”.

City Care Connect the Community will allow the SVA members to help those within the Phillipstown community with a variety of tasks including: gardening, baking, painting and shifting things.

McLeod says, “Connect the Community is a unique opportunity for SVA to echo to the community that SVA is still here, still eager to connect those willing to help, with those who need it.”

The SVA aims to hold this event again next year to help another community within Christchurch.

ENDS

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