Trustpower National Community Awards 2008
04 April 2008
28 - 30 March 2008 Wanaka
WOW – What a weekend
There were 23 regions represented at the Trustpower Awards with a huge range stories to tell, which made judging very difficult. The different organisation ranged from environmental groups such as the Yellow Eyed Penguin Trust to events such as Art in the Part to playcentres.
These groups won their regions and we were all together to celebrate (thanks to Trustpower) our achievements and contribution by volunteers throughout the country.
The overall winners were Palmerston North Street Van – their organization is amazing, they have been going out every Friday and Saturday night from 10pm – 4am picking people up from the city, giving them food and coffee and ensuring that they get home safely. They also have a shelter for people who are down on their luck to board, if they can’t not afford to pay, they can stay anyway as well as a rehab clinic to help people turn their lives around. They have been doing this for 13 years, and everyone was very moved by their presentation.
The runners up were Bike Taupo, who are a group set that have set out to make Taupo the most bike friendly city in New Zealand. They have not only built bike tracks and bike lanes around Taupo but have also began safety initiatives such as ‘1.5 metre's’ that have been taken up by other councils around the country. This group, with their slogan of ‘just bloody do it’ showed us all that you don’t necessarily have to have permission to get things done.
The judging of the awards was made up 50% of points from the other regions and 50% of a panel of 8 independent Judges that were made up of Trustpower head honchos, Otago MP Jacqui Dean, a representative of Volunteering NZ , Malcolm Cameron (CEO of Malcolm Charitable Trust), the editor of the North and South Magazine and a representative from last years winners, Special Rigs for special Kids.
The 10 minute presentations were varied, ranging from PowerPoint to videos to role plays. We had a large amount of positive feedback from our presentation and a lot of people were incredibly supportive of what we do in the community and wish us all the best for the future. Hamish and Doreen Anderson were incredibly supportive of us and could not stop singing our praises to judges, mayors and peers. Even Bill English was there and in his speech he said “everyone is deserving of this award and I am sure that all the presentations were great but I bet the best one would have been from Project Clutha!”
Both Vicki and myself felt very honoured to be representing Project Clutha at the Trustpower Community Awards and we hope that when we get the copy of the video from the presentation everyone will take the time to watch the presentation to see just how amazing the volunteers from around New Zealand are.
One quote which we think sums up the weekend was “Volunteers do not get paid, this is not because they are worthless, it is because they are priceless.”
Sarah Andrew
Chairperson
