About SVA
Born out of crisis
On September 4th 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Canterbury, ravaging the city of Ōtautahi, Christchurch. In the wake of the disaster, 11,000 students mobilised to help with the clean up - coordinated by our founder, Sam Johnson.
This was the beginning of SVA, the Student Volunteer Army.
The The Volunteer Army Foundation, now the Student Volunteer Army Foundation was registered as a charity on April 4th 2012.
Building the next generation of community
Today, SVA is a network of tens of thousands of volunteers driven by a desire to help their communities. By shifting between local need and global outlook, SVA volunteers are empowered to make tangible differences in the world every day – whether it’s simply mowing a neighbour’s lawn or taking action to reverse the effects of climate change.
Through our work in crises across Aotearoa over the last decade, we have evolved to become leaders of second wave crisis response, helping communities recover after disaster.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals give our volunteers a useful framework to make sure that their mahi is connected to a global movement.
Our mission
Our mission is to empower a global volunteer movement ready to mobilise when our community needs us. All our programmes are about teaching, celebrating and empowering volunteers to improve the world they live in.
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All ākonga (students) value takoha (service) and engage in volunteering at every stage of their education.
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Support ākonga (students) to improve their lives, the lives of others and te taiao (the world around them).
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• Be kaitiaki (guardians)
• Have courage, trust others
• Stay youthful
• Do the mahi (work).