About 60 current and former Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) volunteers and their families gathered at the Wellsford Community Centre on Saturday December 3 to celebrate the first 30 years of the bureau in Wellsford.
The guests included two original volunteers, Susan Tomas and Louise Densham, who were among the first 13 volunteers trained at Hibiscus Coast, ahead of the Wellsford opening on November 10, 1986.
Both women are still volunteers 30 years later. Rodney Local Board member Colin Smith said their service was “quite incredible” and thanked them on behalf of the community.
Altogether, the bureau has trained 116 volunteers.
It currently has 18 volunteers and two part-time staff, including manager Janny Chandra-Baker.
Former Wellsford District Community Council chairman Sonny Curel, who chaired the original meetings to discuss setting up the local CAB, attended the celebration and encouraged the bureau to “keep up the good work”.
The Wellsford office is one of 87 CABs in New Zealand. Their service is to make people aware of their rights and responsibilities by providing free information.
Wellsford CAB originally operated in the old Wellsford library building, but moved to the community centre when it opened in 1994.
