From Northland to Dunedin, congregations from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took part last Saturday in the annual “Mormon Helping Hands Day.”
Activities included filling a school’s sand-pit, cleaning up beaches, removing graffiti, picking up rubbish in reserves and donating groceries to a women’s refuge.
- Karori Stream Wellington 28 Feb 2015
- MHH 28 Feb 2015 Wellington Sacred Heart Cathedral
- Annual Mormon Helping Hands in Wellington
- TV3 Crew with MHH 28 Feb 2015 Redoubt, Auckland
- Couch Weymouth Park Auckland MHH 28 Feb 2015
- MHH Kaikohe 28 Feb 2015
- Mormon Helping Hands Kaikohe NZ
- Mormon Helping Hands Kaikohe
- Albany Ward Mormon Helping Hands 28 February 2015
- Annual Mormon Helping Hands in Henderson
- Annual Mormon Helping Hands Auckland NZ
- Annual Mormon Helping Hands NZ
- Mormon Helping Hands Temple View, Hamilton NZ
- Mormon Helping Hands help clean up street in Flaxmere
- Christchurch Kiwi Rail Graffiti Clean 14 February 2015
- Mormon Helping Hands
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
The “Mormon Helping Hands” program is a worldwide effort involving Latter-day Saints and others coming together to provide community service. The New Zealand National Mormon Helping Hands Day is the last Saturday of February each year.
“Helping Hands is growing each year, with more and more people getting involved,” said Latter-day Saint leader, Elder David J. Thomson. “Next year we plan to make all of February Helping Hands month. We would love the government to name February national helping hands month for all New Zealanders who wish to take part.”
“Just imagine,” Elder Thomson added, “Catholic, Anglican, Muslim, Jewish, Mormon, Evangelical, Iwi, Rotary, Lions, school and other community groups getting out in the beautiful weather to collectively give back to our nation. January is beach and BBQ month for New Zealanders — February could be our nation’s Helping Hands month.”
Wellington City Councillor, Simon Woolf, expressed gratitude for the "Mormon Helping Hands" volunteers who weeded Karori Stream on Saturday.
“Two days ago, I phoned our people to see if we could fix the Karori stream, which was choked with weeds," he said. "They told me 'Mormon Helping Hands' were coming. The job that you’ve done is absolutely awesome. The Karori community and greater community are grateful for the mammoth effort you’ve put in.”
Another group of Latter-day Saints spent the day gardening and helping in other ways at Wellington's Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Father James Lyons, Parish Priest at Sacred Heart Cathedral, said, "It's been a wonderful, charitable, very generous donation from the Latter-day Saints in helping rebeautifying our piazza. It's been close to 30 years since the gardens were first put in. To have them redesigned with such love and generosity is marvellous. It's wonderful to be able to have this collaboration today."
In addition to the "Mormon Helping Hands" projects each February, Latter-day Saint congregations organise other community service efforts throughout the year, as opportunities are identified.