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It had been a day like any other for 20-year-old student and part-time hospitality worker Annie Mills, when two men rushed into the restaurant where she worked, pushed her colleague to the ground and then went for the till.

The power of volunteering is something that Victim Support’s new Head of Volunteering, Mary Curnow, is very much an advocate of. She’s seen many times the incredibly positive impact it can have on people in need, communities, organisations, and the volunteers themselves.

Victim Support were there for Billy Davis when his wife unexpectedly passed away and now he’s determined to be there for others as a volunteer Victim Support Worker.

You can hear the pride in Lynene’s voice when she talks about her son Cameron.

“He was such an outgoing, loving, caring young man,” she says. “And he was so loved. By so many people.”

It was just over a year ago that Lynene, Simon, and their family had their world turned upside down when their beloved Cameron lost his battle with depression and took his own life.

“I always knew I was quite good in a crisis,” says Dee. “Growing up, I was the moderator of the family that worked to hold everyone together.”

It’s an attribute that stuck with her through adulthood and came to the forefront in 2008 when Dee tragically lost a family member to suicide.

Following the devastation of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Victim Support had dozens of Support Workers on the ground, many having flown in from all around New Zealand.

During this difficult time an organisation reached out with a generous donation. It was the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem.