Hato Hone St John Friends of the Emergency Departments, winner of Team of the Year.
Hato Hone St John Friends of the Emergency Departments, winner of Team of the Year.
A highlight of National Volunteer Week last month for Volunteering Waikato – Te Ohu Tuua O Waikato was the presentation of the Volunteering Annual Awards, this year at an event held at Zenders Event Venue in Hamilton.
The awards ceremony hosted, recognised and celebrated volunteers from across the Waikato.
Blair Dowling from The Hits Waikato was the host for the evening. Special guests included Hamilton City Mayor Paula Southgate, Matamata-Piako Mayor Adrienne Wilcock and Waipā councillor Claire St Pierre.
Other guests included representatives of award and category sponsors ASB, Craigs Investment Partners, George Consultancy and Fieldays.
Blair Dowling from The Hits Waikato at the Volunteering Waikato – Te Ohu Tuua O Waikato Volunteering Annual Awards,
Khalif continually advocates for ethnic communities and has represented the forum at national meetings. He is an example of how one person has, over the years, influenced the lives of thousands, providing practical support, motivating, and informing survivors of displacement and trauma so that they can turn their lives around.
The Waikato Refugee Forum provides advocacy, capacity building, and practical support to former refugees living in the Hamilton area. Based at the Waikato Settlement Centre, the forum offers a range of support services, including free JP clinics, community advice, and regular events.
Runner up: Aisling Osborne - Te Awamutu La Leche League.
Since 2011 she has been a dedicated La Leche League leader, volunteering her time and skills to support mothers on their breastfeeding journeys. As the main coordinator for the Te Awamutu La Leche League group, she ensures monthly meetings are held for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, offering encouragement, support, and information on a wide range of topics.
Osborne’s commitment has helped the Te Awamutu LLL group thrive, and she has played a significant role in empowering mothers to achieve their breastfeeding goals, mentoring leader applicants, and fostering a supportive community.
Empowerment Advocate, Team: Dress for Success Hamilton.
A staff-led and volunteer-powered organisation, Dress for Success Hamilton is dedicated to empowering Waikato women to thrive in work and life.
The team of volunteer stylists provides a supportive environment where clients, often lacking confidence and self-esteem, are encouraged to find their style and feel more comfortable in their bodies.
While the mission includes providing suitable clothing for employment and life events, the core of the work is boosting women’s confidence and helping them feel good about themselves. The stylists act as personal cheerleaders, guiding women to step outside their comfort zones and grow in confidence.
Runner up: Volunteer Home Tutors’ Team (English Language Partners Waikato).
The ELP Waikato Home Tutors’ Team comprises 88 volunteers, including 49 active members. For over three decades they have supported refugees and migrants in Hamilton and the wider Waikato through the ESOL Volunteer Home Tutoring Programme.
This initiative helps learners master English and navigate life in New Zealand by pairing them with trained volunteers who offer regular in-home tutoring. The programme fosters confidence, independence, and meaningful community connections, enabling learners to achieve goals such as employment, education, and community engagement.
Education Innovator, Individual: Jean McKenzie - Mathematics for a Lifetime Charitable Trust.
A driven and empathetic leader, McKenzie is dedicated to making positive changes within her community. Her passion for transforming the lives of children, youth, families, and communities is evident through her ongoing initiative, leadership, and dedication.
Her voluntary commitment to the MFAL Trust over the past eight years has had a measurable impact, particularly in using mathematics to empower underprivileged families and communities.
Mathematics For A Lifetime chair and founder Jean McKenzie, Volunteering Waikato - Te Ohu Tuuao o Waikato Education Innovator of the Year. Photo / Dean Taylor
McKenzie’s initiatives have already supported nearly 650 students, and she remains committed to breaking down barriers in education.
Mathematics for a Lifetime Charitable Trust is focused on expanding the availability of maths knowledge to children and youth.
Runner up: Amy Robertson - Life Education Trust Hamilton.
Robertson volunteers as an educator. This role includes travelling to schools across the Waikato.
She helps educate students on five major topics: food and nutrition, human biology, relationships and communities, identity and resilience, and substances. Her role has become increasingly crucial due to the alarming rise in substance use, particularly vaping, in primary schools across New Zealand.
Her role in the mobile classroom helps ensure children are educated about the risks of substance use, equipping them with knowledge and skills to make informed choices for their health and wellbeing.
Education Innovator, Team: House of Science Central Waikato.
House of Science Central Waikato provides science kits to schools throughout Hamilton and Central Waikato. These high-quality, bilingual science resource kits allow teachers to confidently teach science in the classroom on a range of topics.
The volunteers are a tireless group of individuals who come together several times a week to ensure that the science kits are packed, cleaned, organised, and delivered to schools. In 2023 60 volunteers collectively volunteered 2123 hours of work.
Guest speaker Fleur Cook of Good Bitches Baking.
Health and Wellness, Individual: Bev Depree - Stroke Foundation Hamilton.
Depree has been involved with the Stroke Foundation Hamilton for over 24 years and is a long-standing board member, as vice president and then president, from 2000 till today.
Over her 24-year tenure, she coordinated up to 26 volunteers, managed the Stroke Caregivers Support Group, and organised monthly Stroke Peer Support Group meetings, including food preparation. Depree also assumed the role of transport coordinator from 2017, ensuring stroke-affected members have access to Total Mobility transport for various support groups and assessments.
Health and Wellness, Team: Te Kauwhata Community First Response Volunteer Ambulance Crew Twist (Hato Hone St John Ambulance).
The Te Kauwhata St John Community-Based First Response Group is an exceptional group of dedicated and selfless individuals who serve the Te Kauwhata, Waeranga, Rangiriri, Meremere and Hampton Downs communities.
Te Kauwhata Community First Response Volunteer Ambulance Crew Twist, winner of the Health and Wellness, Team award.
Through unwavering commitment and genuine passion, this group has made an extraordinary impact, enriching the lives of countless individuals across these areas, from providing critical emergency response ambulance care to organising educational community workshops and open days on life-saving techniques.
Environmental Steward: Jude Tisdall.
A founding member of the Piako Catchment Forum, Tisdall actively engages in gully restoration projects across the Waihou, Waitoa, and Piako river catchments. She has a passion for the district’s lowland kahikatea stands, remnants of indigenous forest.
Often referred to as the “weedbuster lady”, she regularly organises groups to clear urban catchment spaces in the Morrinsville area.
Tisdall speaks with politicians, communities, and businesses in her fearless advocacy for nature, clean water, and wellbeing. She is actively involved as a volunteer for the Piako Catchment Forum, Mystery Creek Nursery, Topohaehae Restoration, Predator Free Te Miro, Weedbusters, Waharoa (Hawes Bush) Ngahere, Morrinsville River Walkway, Connecting the Waitoa and is a founding trustee of the new Piako Waihou Catchment Trust, among others.
A dedicated volunteer, Harrow has been selflessly giving his time and energy for the past six years to two important causes: Gully restoration, and community gardening. His commitment and passion have made a significant impact in both areas.
Event Impact, Individual: Jesse Gibbeson - Hamilton Christmas Charitable Trust.
Gibbeson makes a significant contribution to the Hamilton Christmas Charitable Trust - at every event, his presence is felt in myriad ways.
His support in planning and attention to detail have been instrumental in ensuring seamless operations, from volunteer coordination to logistical arrangements. Gibbeson’s ability to mobilise and organise volunteers reflects his exceptional leadership qualities and unwavering commitment to community service.
Runner up: Michael Cullen (NZMCA New Zealand Motorhome and Caravan Association).
A committed member of NZMCA for the past six years as a committee member, vice chair and chairperson, Cullen has given countless hours to event organisations. He has impacted the lives of thousands.
Event Impact, Team: Bert Jackson and Robyn Jackson - Te Rongopai Community Trust.
The couple generously give of their time and energy to serve the people of Nawton and beyond. Together they have designed, created and grown two successful community events over the past three years, the Easter Art Expo and Matariki.
The community is richer for the events they have put on and they provide opportunities for people to have positive experiences.
Cultural Ambassador: Kirikiriroa Multicultural Council Inc.
For the past 12 years, the grand Hamilton Diwali Mela has been a glittering multicultural event in Aotearoa, enjoyed by diverse religious, cultural, social, and educational groups of all ages.
Held at prominent venues like Waikato Museum, Garden Place, Central Library, riverside, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, Wintec, and Waikato University campuses, it showcases spectacular performances in collaboration with various ethnicities in Hamilton.
Kirikiriroa Multucultural council Inc, winner of the Cultural Ambassador award.
Activities include Rangoli, Mehndi tattooing, moko, cultural cooking, language lessons, Diya making, trying cultural clothing, and dance workshops, fostering a harmoniously inclusive society. This volunteer-driven effort promotes mutual respect and understanding.
Social Justice Award: Penny Boyce - Rainbow Hub Waikato.
Boyce has been an integral part of Rainbow Hub Waikato’s governance board since 2020, consistently demonstrating her commitment to promoting social justice, equality, and human rights within Rainbow+ and wider communities.
Her efforts and dedication as a board member and past chairperson have significantly contributed to empowering the work Rainbow Hub Waikato does in addressing systemic issues, advocating for marginalised groups, and fostering inclusivity and fairness for all members of the rainbow community.
For three years LIC has supported and worked alongside House of Science Central Waikato to ensure that the students of Hamilton and Central Waikato continue to have access to the House of Science programme and the use of the bi-lingual science resource kits.
With company approval, LIC staff volunteers ensure that the science resource kits are cleaned organised and sorted, so they are ready to be used by the next group of students to participate in hands-on science activities and experiments. In 2023, 26 LIC staff members donated over 300 volunteer hours.
LIC also put their “money where their mouth is” and for the past two years have sponsored the “Who’s been there?” science resource kit at $3000 per year.
Youth Changemaker: Olivia Grainger - The Wellness Club.
She is the founder of the Wellness Club, a mental health and wellness club at the University of Waikato. The club was started three years ago and now has 60 members.
Grainger is a mental health advocate and regularly engages with a large online community. She also holds the volunteer role of Wellbeing Ambassador at the University of Waikato.
Team of the Year: Hato Hone St John Friends of the Emergency Departments.
FEDS is a group of 37 non-medical staff who support, comfort, reassure and assist patients in the Emergency Department. Volunteers work a four-hour shift in pairs at least once per week, covering every day of the year, including Christmas Day and public holidays.
During a shift, FEDS have a conservative average of 42 patient interactions, which equates to 252 patient interactions per day, 91,980 patients helped per year.
Runner up: Cambridge Riding for the Disabled.
Cambridge RDA celebrated 40 years in 2023 - a success made possible by a team of 55 volunteers. They are the lifeblood of RDA - their compassion, empathy and selflessness enable the provision of the service to the disabled community.
Volunteers range in age from 18 – 74 and contribute over 10,000 hours per year.
Lifetime Achievement: Valerie Ferguson (In Memorium).
Ferguson committed her life to serving the community, serving on numerous organisations, including Henderson Plunket, the Morrinsville Theatre and the Morrinsville Gallery.
