Sunshine Service Inc

Melissa visited the warm and welcoming Liz at the Sunshine Service today!

It was great to visit and meet a few of the volunteers before they headed out to pick up their passengers - see a couple of those happy faces sitting in the parked van next to us 😎

If you’re interested in volunteering with the Sunshine Service see the details below in the caption.

40 years of operation in Gisborne with many people enjoying the service. We are thankful for every volunteer and every who has rung and used our service.

The Sunrise Foundation - Gisborne/Tairawhiti Sunrise is a community foundation that can help you support local charities or causes you care about.

Remember Mrs. Jones? 🤔

Struggling to get to her doctor's appointment, worried about the bus fare and navigating the unfamiliar streets?

That's where the Sunshine Service steps in. Their friendly volunteers, many themselves retired and full of stories, become wheels for Gisborne's most vulnerable.

Whether it's a hospital visit, a trip to the hairdresser, or just a chance to grab groceries, the Sunshine Service ensures independence and dignity for those who need it most. But they can't do it alone.

👉We're searching for kind souls, with a smile and a spare hour or so, to join the team.

No special skills needed, just a big heart and a willingness to make a difference.

Join them and see the joy on Mrs. Jones' face when she arrives safely at her destination. You'll know you've truly brightened someone's day.

Message us if you are interested in a volunteer opportunity with The Sunshine Service!

Did you see us in The Gisborne Herald - https://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/news/tiki-tours-for-the-elderly

Loneliness and social isolation in older adults are being tackled through a new project from the Tairāwhiti Positive Ageing Trust and the Sunshine Service.

Judy Livingston, spokesperson for the Tairāwhiti Positive Ageing Trust, said people could become socially isolated for a variety of reasons, such as getting older or weaker, no longer being the hub of their family, leaving the workplace, the deaths of spouses and friends, or through disability or illness.

“Someone who’s lonely probably finds it hard to reach out as there is a stigma surrounding loneliness, and older people tend not to ask for help because they have too much pride.

“The trust has been discussing how to address this significant issue, especially for those in care.”

Their discussions led to contacting the Sunshine Service to talk about the issue and how it could be resolved.

A pilot “Tiki Tours” programme was formulated, with the trust donating $5000 to support its delivery during 2024 — after which it will be re-evaluated.

The programme will target seniors in lifecare facilities who have no local family or who do not get out to community groups and activities.

“These tours will offer an opportunity, once a month, to take seniors out and about and show them what is happening in Gisborne — for example, the new Kiwa Pools or maybe drive past their former homes or drive to the beach and perhaps have an ice cream.”

Sunshine Service manager David Dewar said the organisation was “delighted” to be able to offer the new pilot programme to seniors in Gisborne.

“Our volunteer drivers and helpers who know what is proposed have expressed interest in being involved.”

He also said the Sunshine Service always wanted new volunteer drivers and helpers, so if anyone was interested then to contact him to find out more.

Ms Livingston said anyone interested in finding out more about the Tairāwhiti Positive Ageing Trust or wanting to be involved could contact her or Nona Aston, the trust chair.

Just a quick note to let you know our operating times.

A quick reminder now that we are in the busy season.
PLEASE phone in advance if you need some transport.
And please phone if you need to cancel your trip.

THANK YOU!!!

To all our wonderful volunteers

We are very thankful for our local Pizza Hut providing us some Pizza for our recent AGM.

THANK YOU!

Have you been to see our new website yet?

Sunshine Service

💛 Putting on our community hat 💛

We have teamed up with the Sunshine Service Inc by volunteering a member of our senior leadership team once a month to help remove some pressure of finding volunteers to keep this vital service running.

The Sunshine Service connects elderly and disabled people to a variety of community groups, appointments, the supermarket or visiting friends – outings that may not be accessible to them if it wasn’t for this wonderful service.

Read the full Gisborne Herald story here ➡️ https://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/port-puts-on-a-community-hat

📸: Rebecca Grunwell, Gisborne Herald Photographer.

We have many people wishing to use our service, and to do this we need more drivers.

If you have 1 day free or more, we would love to hear from you.

Please call 068672905. Please leave a message if we are unable to answer. We are usually out transporting people.

We are happy to say our website is also up and running now.

Welcome - about us

Eastland Port are kindly assisting Sunshine Service by providing a staff member once a month to assist with their operation of transporting the Elderly, Disabled or Mobility Impaired persons to their appointments, group events etc.

Sunshine are very grateful to Eastland Port for their assistance and are looking for other businesses to assist, if you or your business can assist please contact Sunshine Service on 06 8672905 or email [email protected].

Pictured is Briar Robb, Communications and Marketing Manager of Eastland Port and Rod Young, Sunshine volunteer.

Did you see us in The Gisborne Herald?

We are very thankful for every volunteer and grant we have received over the last 40 years. We look forward to supporting our community for many years to come.
We would love to have more volunteers join us.

Look at our new vehicle, perfect for single use. It can take a wheelchair also.

We would love to help transport you around town.

We specialize in supporting those with mobility needs to get to where they need to go.

Please call us on 06 8672905 before 12pm each day to book in Transport.

It is so great to see some Sunshine.
With more people moving around in our city, we are DESPERATE for some more volunteers to help us transport people.

What's Involved?
Driving or assisting the driver to collect people from their homes and take them to their appointments and return.

It would be great if you have 8 hours in a day to give us once a week, once a month.... Anytime you can give us would be great.

We are operating. Please call us to arrange transport.

We are back and ready to transport people

Please phone 068672095 or text 0221740903

Please contact us at least 24 hours in advance.

We are always looking for volunteers. Please let us know if you would like to volunteer with us.

Very thankful for our grant from The Sunrise Foundation - Gisborne/Tairawhiti

As well as growing our endowment funds, at Sunrise we are focused on giving back to our community. We support a diverse range of groups and organisations with grants given out in our annual funding round.

This year we have given grants to...

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Gisborne Tairāwhiti
Cancer Society Gisborne East Coast
Deaf Aotearoa Holdings Ltd
Citizens Advice Bureau Gisborne
Eastland Rescue Helicopter
Eastwoodhill Arboretum
E Tu Elgin
Gisborne Bowling Club
Gisborne International Music Competition
Gisborne Riding for Disabled
Historic Places Tairāwhiti
Matapuna Training Centre
Midway Surf Lifesaving Club
Multiple Sclerosis GEC
Oasis Mens Shelter (Gisborne New Life Fellowship)
Outward Bound Tairāwhiti
Poverty Bay Kayaking Club
Poverty Bay Polo Club
SPCA - Gisborne Tairāwhiti
Road Safety Education NZ
Stroke Tairāwhiti
Sunshine Service Inc
Swim for Life Tairāwhiti
Tairāwhiti Beneficiary Advocacy Trust
Tairāwhiti Museum
Te Hahi Gisborne Tairāwhiti
The Gisborne Bandroom
Tolaga Surf Lifesaving Club
Victim Support Tairāwhiti
Waikanae Surf Lifesaving Club
Wainui Surf Lifesaving Club
Waipaoa Station Farm Cadet Training Trust
Whānau Āwhina Plunket (Royal NZ Plunket)

Please text if this is easier for you.

Very gratefulfor this award, recognising our volunteers and all their hard work in our community.

Sunshine Service wins annual Nan Evans Award Tairāwhiti Community Voice (TCV) has named the Sunshine Service as the winner of its annual Nan Evans Award. The award is named in honour of Nan Evans who was the founding member of Tairāwhiti Communi...

A reminder to book in advance so we can transport you. We love helping our community get to where they are going.
- supermarket
- doctors
- hospital
- treatments
- classes/programs

We have a few changes happening for Sunshine Service.

We have a price increase happening from the 1st of October. Trips will be $5 each way.

We also are in need of assistants - this can be anyone. Our assistants help our driver over the course of the day.

If you have 8 hours free once a week and would like to be a driver or an assistant please call us on 06 86 72905.