Seventy-one-year-old Lynette Lovett of Ashburton has volunteering in her DNA.
She volunteers for numerous organisations, including for the past 50 years with New Zealand Red Cross.
Her long service was recently acknowledged by the organisation.
The former Ashburton District councillor said offering her time and skills was ingrained from a young age.
Her parents volunteered – so she just did it.
Growing up in Southland, she joined junior Red Cross while a teen at Gore High School, and from a young age St John.
Lynette said she remembers going to many sporting fixtures with her mum assisting her as she was a volunteer with St John.
‘‘I’ve always liked being involved in my community and helping people,’’ Lynette said.
Her biggest regret from the significant list of volunteering she has undertaken, is not completing her St John Grand Prior.
‘‘I only had one subject to complete it but was off dental nursing in Christchurch so didn’t complete it,’’ she said.
In her 50 years as an adult with Red Cross, Lynette said she had enjoyed it all, met some wonderful people and been with people facing some of their most challenging times.
There have also been positive experiences, such as supplying water at MultiCultural Bite, assisting in the Red Cross shop in Ashburton, helping at the blood bank, and with fundraising; Red Rose Day is her favourite fundraiser.
She has carried out need assessments in Rolleston during a disaster, which gave her skills to use on deployment as part of the Civil Defence volunteer team with the district council.
And, for 40 years as a Red Cross volunteer she went with Ashburton Hospital’s district nurses as they provided care and assistance to patients, and welfare checks.
‘‘We provided an extra pair of hands, as well as security for the nurses,’’ Lynette said.
She said she misses providing that service, which stopped following the covid pandemic.
When Lynette Lovett married and moved to district, she joined the Flemington Red Cross and took junior Red Cross at Flemington School.
When the Flemington branch of Red Cross closed, Lynette joined Tinwald which has also now closed.
‘‘It sad that Red Cross is no longer as visible in our community has it has been. But this is due to our members getting older. Red Cross is still out there with our disaster welfare team, raising funds to assist those in need and supporting refugees,’’ Lynette said.
Red Cross is just one of the many organisations that Lynette has provided governance and leadership in.
She was the president of Tinwald Red Cross branch, assisted with behind-the-scenes tasks to Pat O’Brien from Ashburton when she was national president, serving on the Ashburton co-ordinating committee of Red Cross.
Earlier this year she retired after three terms on the Area Council of Red Cross.
‘‘Red Cross is a great organisation to be part of, they are out and about helping people in our community, around New Zealand and across the world,’’ Lynette said.
Volunteering has been a big part of Lynette’s life, so much so that she and her late husband Rod returned home early from their honeymoon to volunteer in the sheep pens at the Ashburton A&P Show.
As a new bride, living in a new area, volunteering got Lynette involved in and connecting with others in the Flemington community where the Lovett’s farmed.
‘‘As a young married woman, your mother-in-law expected you would join organisations in the district, so I did.’’
The list of organisations that Lynette has and continues to give her time to, is ever growing.
‘‘All my volunteering has been rewarding as it a privilege to work with people and help them on their journey,’’ she said.
