Introducing Anya Whiting

Anya Whiting has recently been appointed Volunteer Coordinator for all the South Island prisons. She is already a familiar face in Canterbury prisons, having been with the Department since 2007 and was most recently the Programme Coordinator at Christchurch Women’s and Rolleston Prisons.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my role as Programmes Coordinator,” remarks Anya. “It gave me great insight into the importance of volunteers within prisons, so I am now delighted to be a volunteer coordinator.

“I truly believe the role of the volunteer is paramount to the realisation of the Department’s goals of reducing re-offending and successfully reintegrating offenders back into the community.”

Anya is looking forward to holding a ‘Meet and Greet’ in mid to late July with volunteer team leaders, coordinators and independent volunteers at Canterbury Prisons.

“I see this as a good opportunity to get to know as many volunteers as I can and discuss future volunteering options,” says Anya. “I also plan on travelling down to Otago and Invercargill Prisons by the end of July, hopefully making this a regular occurrence in the future.”