Embargoed until 8:00pm, Monday 23 June 2014

Generous Youth Recognised through Youth Spirit Award

An impressive student from John Paul College with a record of service to school and community was tonight recognised through the Trustpower Youth Community Spirit Award. Kimberley Burr has been named as the Winner of the Award which is run in conjunction with the Trustpower Rotorua District Community Awards.

The Award is jointly run by Trustpower and the Rotorua District Council and local high schools were asked to recommend one student to be considered for the Award. The Runner-up for this Award is Pragnesh Moraji from Rotorua Boys High School and the finalists are Hannah Bailey from Rotorua lakes High School, Stephen Wright from Western Heights High School, Jazmin Henare from Rotorua Girls High School and Alexandra Hill from Rotorua Girls High School.

The Trustpower Youth Community Spirit Award celebrates the work young people do to enrich their community and is open to all students who have given service to school or community projects, treated others with care and respect and been a good ambassador for the school and the Rotorua region.

Trustpower Community Relations Representative Jess Somerville says the Trustpower Youth Community Spirit Award is a great opportunity for a generous student with a big heart to be formally acknowledged and congratulated.

“This busy young lady lends her time to a variety of projects and causes at her school and in the community. This stretches from coordinating the student volunteers at the breakfast club at Sunset Primary to leading her schools 40 hour famine effort to cleaning the Utuhina River clear of rubbish. At John Paul she is also one of two La Sallian Captains, a role which sees her help coordinate community projects at school and raise funds for great causes.

“On top of this she has coached three different badminton teams since 2012, she organises lunchtime activities for students and she has supported a number of local charities such as Red Cross with this year’s appeal. It’s a special kind of young person who chooses o gift their time in this way and as a coach, mentor and determined fundraiser she is a very deserving Winner of this Award,” says Miss Somerville.

For winning the Award Kimberley will receive a trophy, framed certificate and $500 prize money, with $250 being given to a community group or organisation of her choice.

The Trustpower Youth Community Spirit Award will be presented at the Trustpower Rotorua District Community Awards, being held at the Rotorua Convention Centre tonight on Monday 23 June.

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