Here at GBB, we have an amazing group of volunteers who make what we do possible. All of them deserve to be recognised for their constant commitment to making New Zealand a kinder place. As part of a new series, highlighted across our blog and social media, we will be asking a number of our volunteers, 'Why do you GBB?'
Our first profile of the series is Byron, our website bitch. Thank you for all your mahi Byron!
How long have you been volunteering with GBB?
I started volunteering in May 2020. My background is in digital marketing so my area of focus for GBB is the website to help optimise it for everyone that visits.
What made you decide to volunteer with GBB?
Volunteering is something I've been wanting to do for a while and during Alert Level 4 lockdown I decided to see what is out there and through Helptank I found this opportunity to volunteer for GBB. Baking is something I've started getting into this year so it seemed fitting as an organisation for me to support and volunteer my time.
What do you do when you're not volunteering?
Funnily enough, my New Year's resolution was to learn how to make sourdough bread from scratch. I've been maintaining a sourdough starter since January and bake something savoury on one weekend while my wife bakes something sweet on the alternate weekend and we have our own baking Instagram account Agile Bakers. When it's not my weekend to bake I'm often outside enjoying the sun. Hopefully, travel again in the not too distant future!
What’s your favourite part about being a Good Bitch?
Being able to combine my passion for baking and the background of digital marketing to help an organisation that really is trying to share kindness throughout New Zealand.
What does kindness mean to you?
Kindness to me means treating someone with fairness and respect without judgement and having empathy towards others. This is something as Kiwis we should be proud of with the year that has been and how we have been treating each other with kindness.
Any memorable baking stories?
There have been a few but I think my most memorable one was the second time I tried to make sourdough bread. It was such a failure. It was dense and over-proofed. I was absolutely gutted and didn't feel like trying again. However, I took this experience to figure out what went wrong and learn from it. Baking is such a journey each time you bake you learn something new and you take this into your next bake which is what I enjoy.
What is your go-to treat?
No surprises but sourdough bread if I'm in a savoury mood or a chocolate brownie if I feel like something sweet.
Byron at the Te Paki Sand Dunes near Cape Reinga.