INDEPENDENT NEWS

St John Youth receives funds from award winning volunteer

Published: Tue 3 Sep 2013 11:11 AM
St John Youth receives funds from award winning student volunteer
St John Youth in the Taupo District has received a $250 donation from the winner of the 2013 TrustPower Taupo District Youth Community Spirit Award.
Karlee Searancke from Tauhara 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 Taupo District Council and is part of the TrustPower Taupo District Community Awards which were presented last night, Monday 2 September at the Great Lake Centre, Taupo.
For winning the Award, Karlee received a trophy, a framed certificate and $250, with an additional $250 being donated to a community organisation of her choice. Karlee chose to donate the money to St John Youth, an organisation where she has spent over 150 hours volunteering as a youth cadet.
Donna Davidson of St John Youth says Karlee’s donation will be used to fund the training of future cadets.
“I can see future leaders in the cadets that we have got. Karlee is a perfect example of this.
The money given by Karlee will be used to put more cadets through NCO Leadership Training. As St John is a charity, the cadets normally have to pay for themselves to go through this training.
I am very happy that Karlee decided to donate the money to St John Youth. We are very grateful.
The money will help us look towards the future with our future youth cadets,” says Donna.
TrustPower Community Relations Coordinator, 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. Karlee is a great example of a student doing just that,” says Suzi.
“Karlee has a natural instinct to give her time, talents and experience freely. With over 150 hours of community service under her belt as a St John Youth Cadet it is fantastic that she is now able to financially give to this community organisation as well.
During her time at Tauhara College, Karlee has been a junior and senior leader representing her school at key events, including awareness weeks and fundraising causes. She’s part of the peer support programme and she’s part of the School Executive as Co-ordinator of the Careers and Gateway programme.
Out in the community, for the past three years Karlee has helped out at Tauhara Primary School, supporting children with their learning. She’s an assistant teacher at the Taupo Bible Church; she visits the elderly, reading to them, doing chores and keeping them company; and she’s volunteered at Taupo Hospital with their emergency evacuation procedure.
From the young right through to the elderly, Karlee is giving so much in so many ways. We think she does a great job of personifying Youth Community Spirit,” says Suzi.
ends

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