Meet Garden to Table volunteer Joy

Joy has been a Garden Volunteer for the past six years. She says “Children are the thing in life that I love most. They replenish my spirit. So, I wanted to give back and volunteer at a local school. The Garden to Table programme is just a beautiful experience. I’m so grateful to be a part of it.” 

Joy has been retired from paid work for a while now, and she wasn’t sure if she could be of any real help as a volunteer. “Fortunately, I went to a talk for elderly people that changed my mindset. Someone asked a question about how to overcome challenges. The presenter said the very best thing to do was to face the challenge – ‘go and do it!’ she said. So, I came home, called up my local school and asked if I could volunteer.”

That was six years ago and Joy has been volunteering ever since.  “I volunteer with my little class every Tuesday and Wednesday. I always leave feeling elated and more inspired to do things in my own garden. Every day that I volunteer is memorable!”

Joy started off in the kitchen. Then, when her school needed a garden volunteer, she jumped at the opportunity. “I will never go back! I love the ebb and flow of the garden.”

“I do what needs to be done and I have fun listening to the children – hearing about their aspirations and passions and all the other things happening in their world. They’re so respectful. I love seeing them go back to their classrooms after their Garden to Table session – they’re so grounded and rested and so ready to learn the next thing.”  

At Christmas, the children at Joy’s local school write cards for their volunteers. One year, Joy got a wonderful message from a child that said:

Thank you for coming to Garden to Table, Joy. You could go anywhere in the world but you choose us.  

Ngā mihi nui ki a koe, Joy – Thank you for sharing your story and thank you for choosing to volunteer for Garden to Table. 

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