Media Release, for immediate release, Tuesday 26 July

The Salvation Army receives funds from award winning student volunteer

The Salvation Army in Tauranga has received a $250 donation from the winner of the TrustPower Tauranga Youth Community Spirit Award.

Cameron Nguyen from Mount Maunganui College was named as winner of the Award, which recognises secondary school students’ service to the school and the community. The Award is jointly run by TrustPower and the Tauranga City Council and is part of the TrustPower Tauranga Community Awards.

For winning the Award Cameron received a framed certificate and $500, with $250 going to Cameron personally and $250 being donated by Cameron to The Salvation Army.

Stephen Crump of The Salvation Army says Cameron’s donation will be used to help increase The Salvation Army’s presence in the community.

“We will put Cameron’s donation towards the Community Ministries division of our branch. The Community Ministries has counsellors and budgeters and it runs a food bank, a home for men and a home for women and children amongst other community based programmes.

Cameron’s donation will help to ensure that our wheels in the community keep rolling,” says Mr Crump.

TrustPower Community Relations Representative Suzi Luff says the TrustPower Youth Community Spirit Award is a wonderful opportunity to publicly acknowledge the work young people do to enrich their community.

“Often young people receive a lot of negative attention and we forget the tremendous input that they provide to the fabric of our community,” says Miss Luff.

Cameron is a generous and talented student and it was her passion to share dance with local children and her reasoning behind it which stood out for the judging panel.

“For the past two years Cameron has been taking hip hop dance lessons at Mount Maunganui Intermediate. She does this because she knows it’s good for the community and it helps to connect the two schools with each other using performing arts.

Following this through, she helped the intermediate school with its routine for the “Fresh Moves” competition.

Suitably, Cameron has a goal to get a degree in teaching and dance and to have a dance studio which is affordable and exciting for youth to get involved with.

Aside from dance, Cameron has volunteered at food festivals and cultural fundraising nights as well as volunteering for the Red Cross and CanTeen,” says Miss Luff.

“Cameron is aware of the positive impact that The Salvation Army has on families it helps in the community.

Cameron impressed the judges with her humility, work ethic, generosity and realism. Cameron does a great job of personifying youth community spirit,” says Miss Luff.

For more information please or for photos please contact:

Suzi Luff

TrustPower Community Relations Representative

ENDS

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