Rotorua's Chantelle Cobby a winner in Impact Awards for microvolunteering initiative

Chantelle Cobby, The Microvolunteering Collective founder. Photo / Supplied

Rotorua's Chantelle Cobby has been announced as one of the Impact Awards winners, with the awards celebrating extraordinary young New Zealanders.

The Impact Awards winners were announced recently as part of Festival for the Future, a New Zealand innovation and leadership summit.

The winners include a climate change leader, co-founders of a tech start-up reimagining transport, twins who sing against domestic violence, and an entrepreneur's charity putting pre-loved sneakers on the feet of kids in need.

Also, Rotorua's Chantelle Cobby was one of the five winners in the local category and is founder of The Microvolunteering Collective.

The collective has been empowering more than 1000 people to make a meaningful difference in their communities, through bite-sized volunteer tasks.

Microvolunteering breaks down the barriers that often prevent people from participating in traditional forms of volunteering, such as having limited time.

The bite-sized volunteer tasks allow people to make a difference in their community in small chunks of time, and microvolunteering is driven by the idea that a huge impact can collectively be created when individuals unite together to do a little good.

Chantelle says it was a special moment to be announced a winner.

"I've admired people who have been recognised since it [the awards] began, so I'm honoured to get to be part of that myself."

She says she started The Microvolunteering Collective three years ago, and that the award was a real testament to the power of collective action and how much change could be done when people came together.

Inspiring Stories chief executive and founder Guy Ryan - a Young New Zealander of the Year and Edmund Hillary Fellow - says the contribution these young people are making is truly inspiring.

"These young New Zealanders are stepping up and finding very real ways through the challenges we face as a country, and as a globe.

"They are so committed, and their mahi is so impressive - we are thrilled to be able to
support and celebrate them tonight."

The winners across six categories - climate, enterprise, global, local, inclusion and wellbeing - share $30,000 in prizes.