Meet Our Volunteers #2: Steph and Jonny

There are so many wonderful people who donate their time and energy to keep Kaibosh running, and we’d like to introduce you to some of them.

Second in the series are long-time food sorters Steph and Jonny, pictured here (middle and right) with former food sorter and now Deputy Chairperson Amanda at a World Volunteer Day celebration at Government House.

Thanks to Sophie (also a volunteer) for putting this excellent profile together.

How long have you been volunteering with Kaibosh for?

We’ve been volunteering for Kaibosh for ages; from 2010. We’ve done food sorting that whole time and have a pretty efficient system sorted with the rest of our team. It means we rarely take longer than 1.5 hours. It’s such a small commitment of time for such a great organisation. It’s been really pleasing to see Kaibosh grow over the time we have been part of the team.

Why do you volunteer at Kaibosh?

We started at Kaibosh as a friend of ours was on the board. It appealed as we’re both very thoughtful about our own food purchases and hate to throw food away. We also compost all our food waste. We’re happy knowing that we’re doing our bit to reduce waste in a way that truly benefits others.  One of the Kaibosh food recipients used to pop in to collect food during our food sorting shift. She was running a youth group and we’d always set aside the cakes and sticky buns for the kids!

You run Craft Beer College (this sounds spectacular!) – could you tell us a bit about this?

In our spare time, we both work for government. Our jobs sometimes sound more interesting than they actually are. We also have a small business – Craft Beer College – running beer tasting events. These are lots of fun, and a little bit educational at the same time. We’re definitely beer geeks and love sharing our passion with others.

Where could we find you on the weekend? What’s your favourite Wellington café / restaurant / bar?

We love being involved in the beer community and highlighting that alcohol can be a positive thing if not abused. So, you’ll likely find us at Hashigo Zake, Goldings Free Dive or Little Beer Quarter on a Friday night, and out eating over the weekend – it’s too hard to pick a favourite. We love Logan Brown for special occasions – they’re actually cheaper than most people imagine and the restaurant is so beautiful.

Because of the business, we don’t get to many Kaibosh events. Our life is super busy. But, we try and make the quiz and cheat like crazy to win.  Do say hi if you see us about – we’re always happy to meet other volunteers.

Thanks for your time Steph and Jonny!

If you’re interested in volunteering with Kaibosh, find out more here and drop us a line.