WEA Canterbury Workers' Educational Association

More Than the Sum of Our Parts: We were delighted to see the We Are Books volunteer team for our second-hand bookshop recognised at this year's Volunteering Canterbury Awards. In 2025 our 30 volunteers donated 2,000+ hours between them and sold more than $33,000 of books releasing vital funds to support CWEA's work.

It's incredible but numbers only tell part of the story. What makes We Are Books special isn't just the books that pass through the shop, or even the funds raised. It's the people. The conversations that happen between shelves. The regulars who pop in for a browse and leave having discovered a course, an event or a new connection. The volunteers who bring their own ideas, skills and personalities, making the shop something none of us could have created alone.

And in many ways, We Are Books is a reflection of CWEA itself.

For more than a century, volunteers have been at the heart of our organisation. They teach courses and lead conversations. They serve on committees and working groups. They tend the garden, help in the kitchen, support events, share specialist knowledge, welcome newcomers and quietly take care of the hundreds of small jobs that keep a community organisation like ours running.

Many of our bookshop volunteers also volunteer elsewhere at CWEA. Others first discovered CWEA through the bookshop and have become part of the wider community. The boundaries blur – and that's exactly the point.

Community organisations are rarely built by individuals. They are built by networks of people who each contribute something different: time, energy, expertise, enthusiasm, curiosity and care.
Perhaps that's why volunteer organisations so often feel greater than the sum of their parts. No single person creates the magic. It emerges from the countless interactions, acts of generosity and shared purpose that happen over time.

This award may have been presented to the We Are Books team, but it also celebrates something much larger – the spirit of reciprocity that has always been central to CWEA. To everyone who gives their time, whether in the bookshop or elsewhere across our organisation: thank you. You are not just helping us do what we do.
You are who we are.

Do your children/grandchildren and their friends want some exciting activities for the holidays?

Check out our Kids Fest workshops at CWEA from 7 -11 July. We're centrally located at 59 Gloucester St and participants rate the workshops highly.

We've got vegetarian dumpling-making, a dinosaur talk with an award-winning author, needle felting skills to zoosh up their clothes or mend annoying rips, holes or snags and promoting causes they believe in using art.

For more information see https://www.cwea.org.nz/courses/?categoryfilter-traversablecategories=103 with links for you to book online. The first dumpling course on Monday 6 July is already fully subscribed.

Term 2 at the WEA is almost here… all these courses have just a few seats left - will one be yours? Hop on line or pop in to see us at 59 Gloucester st to secure your spot , it’s gonna be a great term www.cwea.org.nz 🫶

Thanks to Kazuko with Pod-Cast-On and Hohepa volunteers, our plastic and metal recycling was sorted in a couple of working bees during the holidays. Annually we save 63-70kg of metal being dumped in the landfill. And with another crew of volunteers send plastic bottle tops and lids to Richmond Community Garden where they are processed and made into new products like funky plant pots.

Many hands make light work!!
Ginny Nelson, a stalwart volunteer at WEA, enjoys relaxing actively by knitting squares in her favourite stitch patterns - by the hundreds! She buys wool in a range of modern colours and when she's amassed enough passes them on to the PCO volunteers who enjoy piecing them together with crochet to make toasty warm blankets good for adults or babies as a cot/pram blanket.

Funds raised from these sales then enable us to buy wool for the PCO volunteer group who knit for PIPS and Neo-Natal units. A great example of the circular economy in action as your purchase is the equivalent of donating two blankets to a prem baby.

We heard your feedback about the holiday weekend and have changed the dates for Network Waitangi Otautahi's Understanding the Treaty course. NOW on Saturday 2 and 9th May from 9.30am. The weekend option allows those who are keen to participate but simply cannot make weekdays. So do pass on the word to those you know who may be keen. Book here now: https://www.cwea.org.nz/course-template/?eventtemplate=1671-understanding-the-treaty-in-2026 or see our event page.

Course Template Christchurch adult education, courses & events

Paint in Circles like Kandinsky: On Friday we explored a 1913 work by Russian born artist Wassily Kandinsky during Painters Space. As you can see from the photos Marie and Vicki captured Kandinsky's favourite motif - the circle, while also having heaps of fun playing with colour. Kandinsky experienced a rare form of synesthesia known as chromesthesia, where sounds evoke colours and visual forms can trigger auditory sensations. We avoided the temptation to be too precise in our work by using our non-dominant hand and holding our brushes loosely at their ends. This is a handy trick to practice when you find your artwork becoming too "tight" and precise. It tricks your mind into switching off the more logical left-brain and allows your expressive right-brain to come to the fore.

Learning and connecting: Our retirement planning group has become much more than a place to prepare for life after work. Over time, participants have built a warm and supportive community, sharing ideas, experiences, and encouragement along the way. Alongside conversations about retirement, some group members are also making baby beanies for newborns in Ethiopia, helping to keep babies warm in the crucial moments after birth. It is a beautiful example of learning, connection, and kindness in action. This group shows how community education can create not just new knowledge, but lasting friendships and meaningful contributions beyond the classroom.

A new term, a fresh programme on the way! - https://mailchi.mp/cwea/term2-2026

Brilliant team effort in the Edible Garden on Tuesday here at WEA. As you can see from our photos we cleared a ton of debris up thanks to Brian, Michael, Eddie, David, Carolina and I. An extra shout out to David for biking home to grab the trailer so the mess was dealt with immediately. Eddie the watering of the lavender was well overdue much appreciated. Michael the sustenance from toasted bagels, tuna and my homegrown tomatoes capped off a super working bee. Contact Margaret on 366-0285 to get involved next time. YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!!!!