Volunteering numbers look encouraging in the Waikato.
Volunteer Waikato general manager Heather Moore said in the past five years the number of volunteers had increased annually and numbers were up across the field.
"Last year we had 2700 volunteers, which is a 5 per cent increase on the year before. Five years ago it was less than half of that."
It was national Volunteer Week last week.
Ms Moore said this number did not include the many volunteers who did not go through the Volunteer Waikato organisation.
"There are a lot of people who we may never meet who give up their time for something they believe in - those people who go straight to the organisation."
She contributed the rise to the launch of Voluneering Waikato's online service.
"Previously we had to physically interview people. That was very limiting. Any community association can be a member of Volunteer Waikato and list positions with us."
She said now people could log on to the website and apply for positions, and the interviewing process and background checks could be handled by the organisation that advertised them.
Ms Moore noted a particular increase in young volunteers.
"We are a university town and people are starting to realise having a qualification is not enough ... volunteering provides you with a reference and a referee."
Ms Moore said the breadth of roles available was always increasing. "They could create a website for a community group for example," she said.
Sport Waikato chief executive officer Matthew Cooper said about a third of working adults in the Waikato volunteered in some capacity in sporting events, but said quantitative data was hard to collect.
"We know 76,000 people volunteer, which adds up to about 4 million hours per year, which comes out at around $545m worth," Mr Cooper said.
"There has been a shift from long periods to volunteering in short bursts. It used to be that a volunteer was in for life but now you get shorter, often seasonal bursts."
Cooper said strategy was key, with events like sports volunteer awards spurring on volunteers.
"You have to make sure people are recognised," he said.
Red Cross humanitarian services manager for Waikato Rachel O'Connor also said volunteering was healthy in the Waikato.
"We have so many volunteers it's quite hard to count - all of our projects have full membership," she said.
Speaking at the Volunteer Excellence Awards, Volunteer Services Abroad chief executive Gill Greer said that New Zealand continued to see increased numbers of Kiwis volunteering overseas, bucking the trend of most countries, including Britain, France and Japan, which have shown decreases in recent years.
"We have traditionally been one of the highest ... there is an element of we are lucky, others aren't so lucky. Kiwis have a strong sense of fairness and that number eight wire approach."
She said New Zealand has the potential to lead the cause and show the world how important volunteering is.