Kiwibank Local Hero Medallists
Meet your top 100 local legends

Since 2018 Aaron Hendry has been the Youth Housing Team Leader at Lifewise, working to tackle youth homelessness in Auckland. Aaron and his team of 12 support and mentor around 30 young Aucklanders at a time, often spending their days walking alongside rangatahi who have experienced trauma and rejection and helping them rebuild their mana and forge a brighter future. Outside of Lifewise, Aaron is a board member of the Massey Community Trust and youth minister of the Massey Community Church. He also uses his position for advocacy, regularly contributing to media reports, and produces a blog and podcast series called When Lambs are Silent, which sees him discuss youth issues with researchers, academics and politicians.

Abdul Aziz Wahabzadah has been hailed as a hero by law enforcement, politicians and the public for his actions on 15 March 2019, when he risked his life to chase down the terrorist behind the Christchurch mosque attacks. Abdul was worshipping at Linwood Mosque when the killer entered the mosque and opened fire. Despite the clear risk to his own life, Abdul chased the offender from the room, while grabbing an EFTPOS machine to hurl at him. Abdul’s quick thinking and bravery saved many lives and helped law enforcement to quickly identify the killer’s car and capture him. The country celebrated Abdul’s actions again in August 2020 when he read a powerful impact statement at the killer’s sentencing.

In 2018 Abigail began helping her friend Steve Dunne redistribute surplus food from local
suppliers to those in need of extra support. They would use Abigail’s house as an inwards goods depot, then load up their vans and head to local parking lots to distribute the food parcels to anyone in need. The supply and demand quickly outgrew its humble beginnings, so in early 2019 Kai with Love moved to a local church, and Abigail established a team of volunteers to help run the service. She worked tirelessly to rally the community, designed a logo and created a Facebook page to promote the service, which now feeds hundreds of Richmond whānau each week.

Adam McLean’s contribution to his community is music. Based in Mount Maunganui, he runs Bay Music School, which facilitates music classes in schools and fundraises to sponsor kids whose family can’t cover the tuition fees. Many schools have reported that kids who previously had behaviour difficulties in class are thriving, now that they have music as an outlet. In 2020 local artists such as Tiki Taane performed at a gig to raise money for Adam’s music development fund, which provides instruments for music students. During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown he boosted spirits in his community by doing free gigs on Facebook Live, and he also works with local suicide prevention groups to raise awareness.

At just 17 years old, Aigagalefili (Fili) Fepulea'i-Tapua'i already has many strings to her bow: she is head girl of Aorere College in Papatoetoe, a published poet and renowned orator, and a passionate and determined climate activist. She is a co-founder of 4 Tha Kulture, an indigenous environmental activist group that worked alongside the School Strike for Climate, and in 2020 has petitioned the government for a green response to Covid-19, prioritising a renewable economy and meaningful partnerships with communities, tangata whenua and Pasifika. In 2019 Fili won the Storytellers New Zealand High School Public Speaking competition, and in 2020 was selected as the New Zealand representative at the Global Young Leaders Conference in New York.

As Executive Director of Qtopia, Alice Andersen’s role is to celebrate, educate and advocate for New Zealand’s rainbow youth and their whānau. In the last twelve months alone she has designed, developed and delivered Qtopia’s education programme to more than 2,000 people in Aotearoa and Australia and helped establish international best practice for how schools can support gender diverse students with her mahi alongside Christ’s College, as they supported their first out transgender student. Through Qtopia, Alice provides a safe and welcoming space for hundreds of rainbow rangatahi and leads the change in how their whānau, communities, healthcare systems and schools care for them.

In 1976, after her son sustained a severe brain injury, Alison McLellan helped form the Head Injury Society (now Brain Injury Association), a support and advocacy group. Since then Alison has been a dedicated member, long-time volunteer, and for the last 25 years an administrator and liaison officer for the group. Her value lies in her lived experience of the challenges of living with brain injury, as well as her deep knowledge of ACC and public health services and her ability to guide and advocate for those navigating rehabilitation and compensation. She is a skilled communicator and educator who has facilitated support groups, presented at workshops and supported regional associations as they have established over the last forty years.

In his almost twenty years with Coastguard Tūrangi, Allan Turia has seen the organisation’s role stretch far beyond maritime assistance to embody kaitiakitanga (guardianship), working collaboratively with the Department of Conservation (DoC) and the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board. With Tūwharetoa, Allan has helped develop a cadet programme that encourages people of Tūwharetoa descent to volunteer for Coastguard. In turn, Coastguard provides transport across the lake to access the marae and acts as support during iwi events, such as waka ama races. Allan and Coastguard Tūrangi also assist DoC with the upkeep of the protected Motutaiko Island, a place of spiritual significance to Māori: each quarter Allan transports DoC staff to the island to check on endangered species and look after the land.

After the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019, Otago University student Amal Abdullahi was happy to hear conversations about racism taking place around her. However, she was concerned that within a short time, they would fade away and no real change would occur. So, she approached Dunedin’s OAR FM about creating her own radio show, Headscarves and Good Yarns, which would be a forum for conversations about race and diversity in New Zealand. On the show Amal talks to community leaders, as well as anyone who considers themselves an outsider and wants to share their story. Amal volunteers for the Dunedin Multi-Ethnic Council and works in international student mental health for Silverline, which won the Ministry of Health Youth Volunteer Award in 2019.

When Andrew Dunn’s father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1980, most New Zealanders and their families were left to struggle with the diagnosis by themselves. Andrew saw a need for support, and began the first volunteer group in Wellington, and went on to be a founding member of the organisation that is now Parkinson’s New Zealand. He has been actively involved in four regional divisions during the Society's thirty years, has served on the National Board, and was made a Life Member of the Society in 1996. Today New Zealand has 16 regional volunteer groups, as well as a clinical services team that hosts seminars, events, exercise classes and social activities, continuing Andrew’s vision of connecting people with up-to-date information and support.

For the last 14 years, Angela Carmichael has run The Shed, a much-loved drop-in facility in Motueka that offers daily activities, mental health resources, and a safe space for support for her local community. Despite frequent budget cuts, staff losses, and her own daily struggle with fibromyalgia, Angela’s commitment to The Shed is unwavering. She has helped countless families, coaching them on how to be compassionate, empathetic and patient with their loved ones, and that spirit of compassion has spread to the wider community. As well as providing tangible support, Angela is dedicated to removing the stigma of mental illness and regularly uses her platform in the community to educate the public through newspaper articles, talks, and conversations with local businesses.

Growing up in South Auckland, Anita Vaafusuaga left school at just 13. After watching many of her own children and grandchildren also leave school early with no job lined up, Anita was motivated to leave her job in her mid-fifties and start a packing and logistics business that would employ youth in her community at scale, focusing on those who have left school early with few or no qualifications. Her company, DNA 1st, aims to provide stable employment for rangatahi, offer a stepping stone into the workplace, and to help put a dent in the youth unemployment rate in Auckland. Since starting her company in 2012 she has employed almost a thousand young people, 95% of whom are young women.

Bev Raine is a true community leader. For the best part of three decades, she has dedicated herself to improving life in Taranaki and developing the next generation of community leaders. She has been a chair, trustee, or held an administrative position with community groups as diverse as YMCA Taranaki, Taranaki Women's Refuge, Taranaki Elite Athletes Foundation, New Plymouth Catholic Women's League, Taranaki Jazz Club, and Netball Taranaki. For 26 years Bev was the manager of the Taranaki Civil Defence Emergency Management and was the first woman in New Zealand to be a registered officer within this group. She was also part of the fundraising group that raised $1.3million for new pool and stadium complexes in the region.

A former gang member and methamphetamine addict and now an ordained pastor, Brendon Warne is committed to getting New Zealanders off meth. His group, the Anti-P Ministry, began by using guerilla tactics to cut off the meth supply in Aotearoa, kicking in doors and running dealers out of town, but now reaches out directly to addicts. The Ministry is now a nationwide organisation with almost 7,000 members, walk-in clinics, and an app to help members track their recovery. After more requests for walk-in clinics, the Ministry crowdfunded to set up a mobile clinic, and in August 2020 took it on the road to help addicted New Zealanders get help, no matter where they are.

Beyond taking care of her own family and working as a postie (which sees her bike as much as 80 kilometres a day), Bridget Kitchin of Westport commits 30–40 hours each week to lead her local division of St John Youth. She goes out of her way to create development opportunities for rangatahi in her community, especially those that would not otherwise have the opportunity to access them. In her time with St John she has supported youth to participate in community service roles including spending time with elderly, participating at community events and conservation projects. She also supports St John’s team of leaders to develop their own skills.

Bruce Allan is passionate about Peel Forest. Born and raised in the mid-Canterbury High Country, he’s been a dedicated community volunteer for the last 30 years, supporting the local people and protecting the environment. He has been a Peel Forest volunteer firefighter, a committee member of the Peel Forest Timpson Charitable Trust, the Peel Forest Hall Committee, Project Peel and the Orari River Protection Group. He has been a science advisor to the Rangitata Landcare Group and Mackenzie Guardians, and chair of the Peel Forest Outdoor Centre Trust. As a volunteer trustee, he has been a vital part of Centre planning, vision and management, enabling thousands of New Zealanders to partake in outdoor and environmental programmes.

Hokitika’s Regent Theatre is a category II historic building built in 1936 in an art deco style, and a vital part of Hokitika life. It’s safe to say that it wouldn’t survive without contributions from volunteers like Bruce Hackett, who is usually at the theatre five days a week since retiring three years ago. In that time he has helped plan and install the new cinema system, produced cabinetry for cinema equipment, helped with warden duties at events, and he recently began conservation work on the buildings heritage windows. As well as his work at the theatre, he spends many hours each week at the Westland Industrial Heritage Park, in particular working on the small gauge railway.

As the 2020 Sir Paul Holmes Broadcaster of the Year, Bryce Casey is a national treasure.
You might know him as a radio and TV powerhouse but Bryce’s work goes way beyond entertainment. In addition to spending two decades at The Rock hosting the night show and, more recently, the Morning Rumble, he is also a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, regularly participating in interviews, speeches and fundraisers to support the cause. In 2019, Bryce set the world record by bowling for 58 hours straight, raising a whopping $366,000 for Mike King’s I AM HOPE Foundation. He’s also spoken candidly about his wife’s devastating miscarriages, shedding light on a taboo subject matter many New Zealanders struggle with every day.

Carolyn Press-McKenzie and her animal-rescue organisation HUHA (Helping You Help Animals) have saved thousands of animals’ lives since forming in 2008. HUHA runs two animal sanctuaries around Wellington, campaigns to end animal abuse in various forms (for example, medical testing, battery farming, backyard puppy breeding), and completes large-scale animal rescue missions. During level 4 lockdown in 2020 many smaller charities saw their donations dwindle as New Zealanders were under pressure. At the same time, job losses meant that many could not afford to feed their pets. Carolyn rallied volunteers to contact New Zealand manufacturers and were able to deliver more than $120,000 of pet food to food banks and small animal charities through Aotearoa.

At age 16, Chercara Strydom was struck by the number of whānau in her community who struggled to provide essentials. In response, she created Care for Families and began sourcing second-hand items and creating care packs to distribute. Since then, Chercara’s own parenting journey has led the group to focus on supporting those with premature babies and baby losses, and it works with hospitals, neonatal units and social workers to ensure the care packs reach those who need it the most. Chercara now works alongside numerous volunteers who are fully trained and provided with ongoing support, and also takes on students completing the service component of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award programme.

When Chrissi Clement saw that members of her community in Ngongotaha were struggling to access the essentials, she wanted to offer them a ‘hand-up rather than a hand-out’. So instead of distributing food parcels, Chrissi helped start the Trinity Centre Pantry, which allows locals to purchase groceries at around half the normal price, or in exchange for work credits. Chrissi’s commitment to the Pantry has seen the centre flourish: there is now a second-hand children’s clothing store, a toy library, monthly community lunches, and a community garden that grows produce and provides seedlings to locals. The centre is now run by around 50 volunteers, primarily those members who have enjoyed its benefits, and supports around 400 whānau in Ngongotaha.

After an ‘incredibly happy childhood’ and twenty years in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Chris Kelly wanted a chance to give other New Zealand kids the loving, happy upbringing that he had. Since 1995 he has been a foster parent and senior caregiver at Dingwall Trust in Auckland, where he has cared for more than fifty children. Chris was also instrumental in founding the South Auckland Caregivers Association, a support group for foster parents and caregivers. Chris is known as a superb advocate and supporter of young people in care, and in 2013 the Governor-General presented him with the Excellence in Foster Care Award.

Despite being not yet 20 years old, Courtney McLauchlan Bignell is already inspiring others with her generous, community-minded spirit. In 2018, while a student at Otumoetai College in Tauranga she organised a candlelight vigil for murdered British backpacker Grace Millane, and in 2020 she was behind a successful quiz night fundraiser for victims of the Australian bushfires. She also founded a Facebook support group for people self-isolating due to Covid-19 which was supported by several community organisations and helped organise birthday celebrations at a local homeless women’s shelter.

As Senior Station Officer at Waikato Volunteer Operational Support (which provides emergency services to the wider Waikato region), Craig Meads provides leadership and guidance to station officers, is accountable for all brigade operations, uniform, and checking and testing of equipment to ensure the brigade is ready to support its community when required. Beyond this, Craig is available to attend callouts and continue his training and professional development, as well as juggling a full-time job and family. During the recent revamp of the station, Craig provided logistical support and even completed much of the building and painting work himself. He is a committed and dedicated leader who has now given 25 years of service to his community.

Cristina (Crissy) Shiels, along with her husband George, is the force behind Pass it on Manawatū (PIOM), an innovative charity that the Shiels run from their home in Hokowhitu. PIOM is a re-gifting group, where people can donate items and those in need can collect them. From the beginning there has been no assessing of people’s needs: Crissy says that no matter what your income, everyone can do with an unexpected gift to put a smile on their face. The group now has a Facebook page with more than 5,000 members, and the Shiels' house is packed to the rafters with items to give away, including food, plants, books, clothing or bicycles, all of which Crissy sorts through and prepares for collection.

Dan Henry is the driving force behind Predator Free Miramar, a volunteer community effort to rid the Wellington suburb of rats and other introduced predators, and bring back native birds and plants. In just three years Dan has built a community of more than 1,000 households who have collectively removed more than 10,000 rodents from the Miramar peninsula. Dan has spent countless hours sourcing donations for traps, spreading the message at community events and recording data. Dan sees that beyond the massive environmental benefit, Predator Free Miramar has helped unite the community over a positive mission. Now that Miramar is almost completely predator-free, Dan has created a detailed document to help other neighbourhood groups create their own groups.

Danika Revell has a plan to end period poverty (an inability to access sanitary items) in New Zealand by 2030. In just three years her charity The Period Place has grown from a bold idea to a national organisation and in that time has staged education events, given away period supplies and successfully petitioned the government to provide free period products in schools. In September 2020 The Period Place partnered with The Warehouse to roll out permanent period product donation boxes in every branch of The Warehouse and create distribution partnerships with local community groups. Danika predicts that hundreds of thousands of products will be donated yearly, getting The Period Place that much closer to reaching its goal.

Daryl Gowers says that while he’s not great at fixing things, he’s really good at pulling things to bits, and since 2017 he’s used that skill to raise almost $100,000 for the Gisborne East Coast Cancer Society. After working hard and saving money in Australia, he returned home to Gisborne and realised he could help people clear out old appliances and lawnmowers from their backyards or garages by picking them up in his trailer, taking them home and stripping them down, then selling the scrap metal and giving the proceeds to charity. The money raised helps people in Tairāwhiti diagnosed with cancer get to appointments, access services, and pay for resources.

Former youth worker Debbie Munroe, better known as Whaea Debs, is the force behind the Waka of Caring, a centre for the homeless community in Manurewa. The Waka began in 2014 with Debbie spending her own money and rallying for donations from locals to make soup and put together care packages from her home three nights a week. Now she runs a team of volunteers and provides for numerous homeless people each week, as well as for families impacted by Covid-19. As well as providing tangible support in the form of food and clothing, the Waka’s value also lies in being a safe and welcoming space for a group that is often on the fringes of society.

After spending most of her life struggling with the physical and psychological trauma of severe burns sustained as an 11-month-old, Donna Gregory-Marshall has recently embraced her scars, built self-esteem and resilience and supports other burn survivors on their journeys to self-acceptance. She is now a peer support person and mentor to the New Zealand burns community, and regularly shares her story, models her body for burn resources, and provides education to health professionals, including running sessions in the Post Anaesthetic Care Unit at Middlemore Hospital. In 2019 she was chosen as a New Zealand representative at the Phoenix World Burn Conference.

Dorothy Anderson remembers fondly her first visit to New Plymouth’s Pukekura Park in 1928, and now, at age 98, she gets to visit it regularly in her capacity as a volunteer of New Plymouth’s TSB Festival of Lights, which runs for five weeks each summer. Dorothy is the longest-serving volunteer of the Festival, which was officially launched in 1993, although lighting installations have been a feature of the park for more than 60 years. Dorothy has also been a member of the Friends of Pukekura Park, as well as a member of the Friendship Force of New Plymouth. Her volunteer work has been recognised with a Citizen’s Award in 1998 and the Friendship Force Wayne Smith Medal in 2011.

Friendship Force is a voluntary organisation and its objectives of improving international relationships through cultural exchanges has been a passion of Dorothy’s since joining the New Plymouth organisation as a Foundation Member in 1984. Since then, Dorothy has hosted forty exchanges involving more than one hundred Friendship Force Ambassadors and has been the Exchange Director for seven Inward and ten Outward exchanges. Many of these involved Third World countries where English was not spoken. Dorothy was President of the New Plymouth Friendship Force Branch for twelve years and also held the posts of Secretary (7 years) and Vice President. In recognition of her contribution to this organisation, Dorothy was made a Life Member of the New Plymouth Friendship Force Club in 2001 and is currently Patron of the New Plymouth branch. Dorothy has attended almost all NZ Conferences and was frequently involved in leadership roles as a panelist or workshop leader and has also attended four World Conferences.

"Duncan saved my daughter’s life last night when she had a fall of a 2 m cliff into the dark in Piha. He rescued her - off duty and carried her out of the crashing waves - into safety. She described him as an ‘8-meter man that came out of nowhere to save my life’.
Duncan is a senior lifesaver, working way past his duty and rescued many life’s on our Wild West Coast Beach Piha.
We are incredibly thankful to have a wonderful hero like this in our small community."

Seventeen-year-old Emma Jones is a talented musician, high academic achiever, and the first student volunteer in Southland to receive gold, silver and bronze medals for more than 500 hours of community service. She has raised funds for trips to national music competitions, staged performances to showcase student art in the community and held charity events. She also participated in an outreach group that saw local students and music therapists to sing to and spend time with elderly people in her community, and worked as a peer support leader to coach students NCEA music theory. Through the GirlBoss leadership programme, Emma developed learning videos for NCEA music, which more than 150,000 students have accessed; an incredibly valuable tool, especially during level 4 lockdown.

Erica Austin was nearing the end of her Masters of Architecture degree at the University of Auckland when the Christchurch earthquakes occurred. She finished her degree and moved south, excited to participate in the city’s rebuild. She is interested in how cities can build ‘social architecture’ to ensure the physical environment is vibrant, inclusive, and unites and engages its inhabitants. Since arriving, Erica has thrown herself into a wide range of creative, community and entrepreneurial projects, and considers herself a ‘Christchurch ambassador.’ She has been an invaluable member of the teams at FESTA (Festival Of Transitional Architecture), the Ministry of Awesome, Gapfiller, TEDx Christchurch, PechaKucha, the Christchurch Arts Festival, WORD Christchurch, and LINC (Leadership in Communities).

When Faiza Abukar came to New Zealand as a Somali refugee, it was her relationships with neighbours and local groups that made Wellington feel like home, and now Faiza is returning the favour. She is behind a huge range of community activities and events and loves to meet new people and connect them to community organisations. She helped establish a multicultural kids theatre group at the local library, organises annual Eid celebrations and Saturday art activities, helps get local low-income kids to code club and volunteers with the local Playcentre. She helps a local Christian group to run community dinners that bring people from different faiths and nationalities together, often cooking the food and doing henna for people during the event.

Gary Martin gets as much of a thrill from seeing a kid bob underwater for the first time as he does from a student breaking a national record. Together with his wife Shona, he runs Enterprise Swim Club and Martin Swim School, which began in 1973 from a local school pool and then from a Para pool at Shona’s parents’ house. As well as taking lessons and coaching his own swim teams to great success (his students have broken more than 200 national records), Gary has managed and coached New Zealand teams to Oceania and World Championships. He was awarded the Swimming New Zealand Honours to Service Award and is a life member of the New Zealand Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association.

Hayden and Pia Tunnicliffe are co-supervisors of START Taranaki, a support programme for young men in the youth justice system, many of whom have experienced neglect, family violence and trauma. Pia and Hayden’s role is highly demanding: they are on call 24 hours a day, must manage the complex behaviours of the rangatahi, and lead a team of 10 youth workers to coordinate a 21-day wilderness programme and a five-day noho marae. During this intense experience, START staff work with rangatahi, their whānau and social workers to develop a transition plan for success in the community after the programme. Pia and Hayden believe in and see the strengths of the rangatahi, become a surrogate whanau, building them up and offering them long-term support.

Hazel Hape’s career has been dedicated to improving the lives of women and children. She has led the Tauranga Women’s Refuge for more than 20 years, which offers a 24-hour crisis line, educational programmes, counselling, and a safe house. She also represents the voices of women and children at a governance and strategic level. In 2005 she briefly left the Refuge to work on the Glenn Inquiry, an independent inquiry into domestic abuse in New Zealand, she has taught social work at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, holds many board and advisory positions, and in 2014 was the New Zealand delegate to the UN Commission on Status of Women. Hazel has also inspired and trained many rangatahi to become social workers.

After Hugh Renton’s father Paul, a prominent Hawke’s Bay farmer and rugby player, died of suicide, Hugh was determined to use the life-changing event as a force for good. Hugh is using his connection to top rugby players – including All Blacks Sam Cane and Dan Coles – to raise awareness of suicide risk and mental health issues, and in particular to support Hawke’s Bay farmers, who have been plagued by drought in 2020. Hugh understands the respect that many farmers have for rugby players and each week posts on social media a video of a rugby star sharing their own stories of challenging times, and offering support and understanding of all the pressures farmers are currently facing, a source of solace and inspiration.

Together with his wife Pam, Ian (Monty) Montgomery runs the Okiwi Bay Holiday Park and Lodge and the local convenience store, but does so much more than that for his community: for more than 20 years Ian has been at the helm of all emergency services in the area. It began when the couple moved to the Bay, and Ian was the only person in the community to hold an advanced first-aid certificate. He was soon known as the man to turn to in an emergency and went on to help establish the Okiwi Bay Voluntary Rural Fire Force, St John’s First Response, a helipad for rescue helicopters, and the local Civil Defence.

Ivette Cameron has been using her financial management skills to support community organisations in Picton and Marlborough for more than 40 years. She is a committed volunteer who has held treasurer roles in a raft of local organisations, including the Marlborough branch of Scouts New Zealand, Picton Volunteer Ambulance, Top Town and Telethon Event Committees, the Picton Christmas Parade, Picton Maritime Festival Trust, Picton Garden Club, Picton Flower Ladies and the Anglican Church Fundraising Committee. Ivette is known for her humble generosity as much as her financial prowess, and her thousands of volunteer hours of mahi have helped countless beloved community events take place.

While thousands of New Zealanders run marathons each year, few of them wear gumboots while doing it. But Jack Keeys’ approach to life is to find something and work out how to turn it into a force for good. So this year, he’s running the Auckland Marathon in Red Bands to raise money for Melanoma New Zealand (Jack was diagnosed with melanoma in 2019 and both his father and stepfather died of cancer) and the Rural Support Trust. Along with his mum Tina, Jack is part of the Hauraki District Council’s 'Elephant in the Paddock' campaign which aims to raise the awareness of mental well-being in rural communities. It encourages people to talk, to listen and find common ground and support.

After two of his close friends died by suicide as teenagers, James Wards wanted to find a way to help young New Zealanders forge meaningful relationships, improve their mental health, and ultimately reduce New Zealand’s youth suicide statistics. Knowing that many teenagers were playing video games in their spare time but that it can lead to isolation, he created Your Corps, which aims to create community through multiplayer video-gaming events. The group creates live events for adolescents during weekends and school holidays, using libraries and other community spaces as venues. Up to 20 computers are networked together, allowing the rangatahi to spend time sharing an activity they love, develop lasting social connections, and find a safe space to talk.

Janet Bodle knew she wanted to be a teacher from her first day of school, and went on to devote her life to education for the past fifty four years. In more than five decades of teaching, she has significantly expanded support for learning difficulties and was among the first in Tairawhiti/Gisborne to be trained in Reading Recovery and SPELD (dyslexia training). Janet was also invited to set up the Reading Assistance Programme by the local Reading Advisor. She taught ESOL (English speakers of other languages) prior to the establishment of the local ESOL Programme, set up an interagency liaison to support students and schools with learning and behaviour needs, and established Professional Development for dyslexia, grief, ADHD, and an autism spectrum disorder. Seeing the need for culturally responsive programmes Janet and two colleagues invited local experts to introduce waka ama and mau rakau into schools in her district. As a trained speech and drama teacher she volunteered the last forty five years to adjudicating speeches in the district and advising schools in the speech making process. Janet continues to serve her educational journey as part of the Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour Service.

Despite a full-time job as a doctor, Jignal Bhagvandas spends another 40 hours a week running her charity Arogya Mantra, a non-profit initiative that aims to promote a healthy lifestyle to Auckland’s South-Asian community. Arogya Mantra offers community dance and fitness classes (including “BollyFitness” with instructions in English, Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi), as well as guest speakers such as doctors, physiotherapists or dietitians discussing common health problems for the South Asian community, and workshops from Diabetes Auckland, Kidney Health New Zealand or Breast Screening Aotearoa. Each month free medical screenings are carried out by Auckland medical students supervised by registered doctors and nurses. Classes are now run in three locations across Auckland, to hundreds of participants.

After a diagnosis with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at age 27 turned Josh Hickford’s life upside down, he has invested much of his life helping other New Zealanders impacted by cancer. Once in remission, he completed an Ironman event and raised $32,000 in seed money for an app called Ripple, a cancer support platform developed in conjunction with the Cancer Society of New Zealand Taranaki Centre. Ripple launched in late 2019 and is a place where people can ask questions, anonymously if they wish, or track down existing forums and read over them. It also allows people to get in direct contact with others in similar positions – something Josh wished he had access to during his cancer diagnosis.

Joshua Peauafi is a young leader from the Hutt Valley who is interested in the changing nature of cultural identity in New Zealand, and how Pasifika and Māori youth in particular can operate between various roles, responsibilities, and cultural realms. In 2020 he presented his paper “Innovative Cultural Understandings: The Plastic Polynesian Conversation” at Involve, Aotearoa’s national health and youth development conference. He is a board Member of the Upper Hutt Community Youth Trust and the Central YMCA, a mentor for Upper Hutt City Council, and is currently Senior Advisor, Social Action, Safe, Strong Families and Communities, Māori, Communities and Partnerships at the Ministry of Social Development. Joshua has been a guest speaker at Te Awakairangi Youth Development Network, Aspiring Leaders Forum and the Victoria University of Wellington Pasifika Students Association.

In her quiet, unobtrusive way, Judy Skevington has devoted hours of service to her Ashburton community, with her driving kaupapa being helping those in challenging or traumatic situations. She has contributed to a number of organisations over the years, including Rural Support Trust, Victim Support, Restorative Justice, Red Cross and Civil Defence. She has also volunteered at her local school and at the Tinwald Community Police Station, is a founding member of the Ashbearton Teddy Bear Club, which makes teddy bears for refugees, and has raised funds for Rural Support Trust, the Returned Services Association, Starship Hospital and Warbird Trust. As well as spending Christmas Day with her family, Judy helps with the local Community Lunch.

After almost a decade as a well-regarded qualified investigative interviewer and informant handler with New Zealand Police, Julia Vahry went on to create a life insurance company – with a difference. From the start, her business Vahry would be as focused on positive community outcomes as on turning a profit. Julia teaches basic financial literacy skills, including tips for managing KiwiSaver and how to get wills up to date. In 2019 Vahry ran a breast cancer awareness fundraiser and in 2020 embarked on a mission to make Hamilton – where Vahry is based – the blood donor capital of New Zealand, through a partnership with the New Zealand Blood Service, local business people and members of her community.

After a childhood surrounded by gang culture, violence and alcohol and drug abuse, Karen Hepi knew she wanted to forge a different path. After living in Australia, she returned to Northland to study Community Development and Social Work and landed a job at Te Kotahitanga e Mahi Kaha Trust to develop the He Poutama Rangatahi (Transition to Employment) programme. Karen also sits on the Far North Youth Council and is an advocate for methamphetamine-free communities and for at-risk youth. Her superpower is the ease with which she makes meaningful connections with rangatahi at risk. She is also a coach for Kaikohe Future Leaders, and to top it off, is currently studying for her law degree, with the aim of becoming a judge.

Kaye Power has been the president of West Coast Netball for 25 years, and her presence is felt at every part of the organisation: she is the registration secretary and the uniform convenor; she supports the finance team and sits on raffle tables, and always helps out with clean up. She can still be found down at the courts most Friday afternoons supporting the junior netball programmes where she knows most of the children by name (and often their mothers and grandmothers too). Kaye has also been involved with Plunket for more than 40 years, and has been an active member of the Women’s Institute for more than 30 years, and is a regular volunteer at her local church shop.

As a criminal lawyer with more than five decades of experience, Nigel Hampton has been involved with many high-profile cases, including in relation to the Pike River Royal Commission and the collapse of the CTV building. He has been chair of the New Zealand Law Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, was the first Disciplinary Commissioner of Counsel at the International Criminal Court at the Hague, and Chief Justice of the Kingdom of Tonga. He’s a judicial officer for World Rugby and New Zealand Rugby, on the boards of charitable bodies, and is New Zealand patron of the Howard League for penal reform. He also helped establish the Criminal Cases Review Commission board, to redefine the way possible miscarriages of justice are identified.

Youthline provides free phone counselling to thousands of young New Zealanders each year, and Kerryn Scott is one of the dedicated staff which allows this work to happen. Kerryn works in Triage, ensuring the vulnerable youth that calls Youthline are taken care of and supporting the volunteers that answer the calls. In addition to her paid role, Kerryn spends many hours doing voluntary shifts, supporting the triage team at high-volume times, and is a volunteer mentor, training new Youthline volunteers. Kerryn constantly monitors the national roster for gaps, and regularly takes up extra shifts to ensure that young New Zealanders are able to access support when they most need it.

Music therapy is a small but growing profession in New Zealand, and Kimberley Wade is working right at the heart of it. She is the founder of Southern Music Therapy, which provides music therapy sessions for people with disabilities and in 2010 she co-founded the Cantabrainers Choir which allows people living with a long-term neurological condition, such as stroke, Parkinson's disease or traumatic brain injury to sing in a safe, supportive group environment. Kim is passionate about music therapy and has presented her work at symposia and conferences for Music Therapy New Zealand, New Zealand School of Music, and MENZA (Music Education New Zealand Aotearoa). She has also collaborated with Creative New Zealand in providing accessible concerts for people with disabilities.

After more than ten years of working in youth health in Nelson, in 2017 Lee-ann O’Brien created Whanake Youth, a holistic youth services organisation that supports local rangatahi through an array of programmes, including counselling services, health clinics for young people and their whānau, drop-in youth groups, and her Wicked Tooth Fairy project, which connects young people to dentists and is now a model for dental services around the country. Lee-ann is a tireless advocate for her community, and there are few young people in Nelson that haven’t benefited from her work, whether through food parcels delivered to whānau, securing funds to purchase clothing, providing transport to meetings or appointments, or taking groups on overnight tramps.

Determined to see more Rangatahi from his region pursuing tertiary
education, Liam benfell created the Tū Rangatahi Youth Foundation.
Despite currently studying towards a Bachelor of Law majoring in Māori
and Indigenous studies at the University of Waikato, Liam travels the
bay of plenty, visiting a number of schools to inspire and encourage
hundreds of young people to attend University. The Tū Rangatahi Youth
Foundation support rangatahi with scholarships, tools for enrolling in
University and provides a forum for what university is really like for
Māori students. Liam also holds the positions of Deputy Chair for Te
Taumata o Rehuaariki (Rotorua’s Reo and Tikanga advisory Council), Pou
Tikanga for Te Whakahiapo (The University of Waikato Māori Law
association), Chairman of the University of Waikato Honour Society and a
position as a panelist for the Young Maori leaders Education Forum.

Libby Hakaraia is a champion of Māori storytelling and community-led development, who established the Māoriland Film Festival in 2016 as a platform to celebrate indgenous cinema in New Zealand. Held annually, the population of Ōtaki more than doubles with visitors who contribute over $2 million to local businesses during the five-day event. At the centre of the festival is the Māoriland Hub, open year-round for Māori and indigenous filmmakers and creatives. Libby heads a team of nine full-time employees based in Auckland and Ōtaki as well as 24 rangatahi filmmakers across Aotearoa in part-time positions.

Luke Gray is an occupational therapist at Whakatane Hospital with a passion for working with youth and seeing people grow and succeed in whatever they want to achieve. He is also a youth leader at his church, and a participant in Future Leaders, a programme that supports rangatahi to contribute to their community. Luke’s focus is on supporting young people’s mental health, and he was especially cognisant of the need for this during Covid-19 lockdown. Luke made sure he was available to his community (he considers all of Whakatane to be whānau) for chats, and worked with other Whakatāne Future Leaders to distribute boredom buster packs for local whānau which included snacks, te reo Māori and mental health resources and activities.

Lynn Cross is best known by his community as someone willing to roll up his sleeves and help out, and over the last fifty years, he’s done just that for a host of Central Hawke’s Bay organisations. Lynn has been a Jaycees member (including serving as president twice); chairman of the Waipukurau branch of St John’s ambulance; committee member, treasurer and chairman of Lakeview Kindergarten; scout leader for Waipukurau Scouts, member of Waipukurau Lion's Club, a volunteer driver for the Blind Foundation, a St Mary's church volunteer and member and secretary of Central Hawke’s Bay Community Patrol. This phenomenal commitment saw Lynn recognised with a Civic Award presented on behalf of the Community by the Central Hawke’s Bay District Council in 2019.

Makasini Tulimaiau has turned her own experience as a parent of a child with a disability into a career as the Pasifika Liaison for Lifewise’s Health and Disability Service, and a valued member of her community. Although she represents health services, her demeanour is more cultural than clinical. She goes out of her way to accommodate people, shares her own personal experiences, and on her own time attends events such as the Pasifika Autism Support Group. She also runs whānau workshops with Taikura Trust, which supports those living with a disability with accessing vital services. Makasini understands first-hand the challenges Pasifika people can face accessing support in New Zealand, making her a determined advocate for her community.

After 18 years working in a number of industries, including multimedia, banking, healthcare, fashion and hospitality, and while raising two young children, Marlena Martin retrained as a social worker and since 2018 has led the Kawerau Future Leaders programme. Marlena is passionate about the strong sense of whakawhanaungatanga in Kawerau, and the kaupapa of Future Leaders, which is about unleashing the potential of our rangatahi through support, mentoring and resources. Most recently she led a group of Kawerau Future Leaders as they developed and implemented a programme called ‘Connecting our Community with Kai’, which helps provide local whanau with food, as well as promoting relationship-building and nurturing a community spirit.

Matt Brown’s chain of Christchurch barbershops, My Father’s Barber, are places for men to get their hair cut or beard trimmed, but also safe spaces for men to connect and unload without judgement and regularly have workshops with guest speakers, community and support, an antidote to toxic masculinity. Matt regularly offers haircuts at the Christchurch City Mission, is a mentor at Christchurch Men’s Prison, and partners with domestic-violence charities. In 2018 Matt partnered with the Ministry of Social Development for the 'It's not OK campaign' to increase awareness about the role of barbers in creating safe spaces for men, and recently he held a seminar at Koukourārata marae with a kaupapa of talking about men's mental health, suicide, and family violence.

Maxine Hooper is a dedicated volunteer to a range of Ashburton charities and social organisations, but her heart has always been with Riding for the Disabled (RDA), which she has dedicated over forty years of her life to. Maxine is currently the head coach of the Mid-Canterbury RDA, a past member of the NZRDA Training Team, and has arranged countless fundraising events to enable RDA to continue to operate. Beyond this, she works at Ashburton Senior Citizens and is a past volunteer with Victim Support and Community House Mid Canterbury. For decades Maxine has been a tireless advocate for her community, and especially for the elderly and disabled.

Micah Roughton is the longest-serving member of the New Zealand Red Cross’s Disaster Welfare and Support team in Hamilton. He’s an innovative and skilled leader who is always thinking about ways to progress the team and increase engagement, and his passion for training has increased overall team attendance. Micah’s passion for providing psychosocial first aid saw him work alongside senior leadership to create a local response to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings and the Whaakari/White Island eruption. As well, Micah is a volunteer firefighter with Waikato Volunteer Operational Support.

Michelle Fannin is known as the ‘go-to’ woman of Taihape. Her commitment to community organisations is legendary, and her presence can be felt at almost every local event. Currently, she is the coordinator of Taihape Older and Bolder, the co-chair of the Taihape A & P Association Committee, a member of the St John Area Committee and an employee of both Work and Income Taihape and Heartlands, the Taihape Service Centre. She is also in her third term on the Taihape Community Board. Being involved with such a wide range of organisations, she has networks throughout the community and has a knack for bringing people on board to ensure every event is a success.

When Michelle Wi lost her job at Waitomo Caves because of Covid-19, she threw herself into a new mission: cleaning up an overgrown section in her hometown of Te Kuiti to grow food for local food banks. The community garden, which opened in July 2020, is called Maara Kai Roopu. Michelle sourced contributions from local companies and recruited volunteers to clear the plot, plant trees, put in vegetable beds, plant flowers for bees and other beneficial insects, set up compost bins and install signs in te reo Māori. She is now working with the local Menz Shed to build a chicken coop and wants to engage local schools and senior citizen groups to make this a true community hub.

Mike Newman is known as the friendliest butcher in Marlborough. He started his business, Meaters of Marlborough, in 1976, and still serves his customers every day. More than that, he is known for his generous support of community organisations, sports groups, and local whānau. He is well connected to his community and will often donate vouchers or meat packs to families with bereavements or who are going through hard times. Numerous local groups rely on donations from Mike for their fundraising sausage sizzles, and in 2015 the Marlborough College Old Boys’ Association made him a life member in recognition of his generosity. He also supports the Blenheim Food Bank with storage, butchery services and delivery.

Ongaonga is a central Hawke’s Bay village of just 50 people, and Pauline Mackie has been at the very heart of it for decades. In 2019 her service was recognised with a Central Hawke’s Bay District Council Civic Award. Pauline served as president of the Ongaonga Historical Society for 18 years which, under her leadership, established the village museum. As co-founder of the Ongaonga Playcentre, she was involved in a number of community projects designed to teach children life skills and also ran Central Hawke’s Bay’s Riding for the Disabled for more than 25 years. She is passionate about the Ongaonga community and continues to serve as a local tour guide, telling stories and relating the history of the area to tourists.

After graduating with a BSc (honours) from the University of Auckland, many were surprised to see Mustafa ‘Mussie’ Sheikh head straight for a job at the counter of KFC. But for Mussie it made perfect sense – the job would free up his time and earn him enough money to start Bread, a charity that aims to ‘protect young dreams’ by supporting kids living in poverty. Now Bread is three years old and helps hundreds of kids at low-decile schools. The cornerstone of the organisation is the six-month-long mentoring and study programme, which assists with goal-setting, career-planning, university and high school preparation, research skills and positive thinking. Bread also supplies jackets, shoes and sweaters to kids in need.

Neen Kennedy is famous around Waipukurau for being absolutely mad about recycling. She is a founder of Sustainable Ewe, a website devoted to sustainable living in Central Hawke’s Bay, and she recently converted her garage into a dedicated Sustainable Ewe space, giving people a venue to exchange seeds, swap preserving jars and purchase homemade Bokashi buckets. These buckets are the result of Sustainable Ewe’s latest project, The Great Bucket Rescue, which takes 15-litre food grade buckets that were headed to the landfill and converts them into home-composting units. Neen is also a member of the Central Hawke’s Bay Food Basket team, which redistributes food to those in need, and is the first to raise her hand when volunteers are needed at the council’s waste management centre.

In 2007, after the death of her three-year-old daughter Kenzie from spinal cancer, Auckland woman Nic Russell founded Kenzie’s Gift, a charity that helps young people and their whānau navigate serious illness and bereavement. The organisation provides grief kits, online resources and free one-on-one therapy sessions with mental health professionals, with the aim of better mental health outcomes for these children later in life. Despite many health challenges of her own (including stage 3 breast cancer, cardiomyopathy and Parkinson’s disease), Nic has continued to work tirelessly on Kenzie’s Gift for the last 13 years, helping thousands of young New Zealanders.

In July 2000, at age 27, Nick Chisholm was playing rugby when he suffered a series of mini-strokes. After spending time in a coma and enduring days of seizures, he was diagnosed with locked-in syndrome, a rare neurological disorder characterized by complete paralysis of voluntary muscles, except for those that control the eyes. People with locked-in syndrome are conscious and can think and reason, but are unable to speak or move. However, Nick discovered that through exercise he can regain limited use of his muscles, and he now trains other stroke sufferers and people with traumatic brain injuries to do the same. He also talks to schools and community groups about staying positive no matter what life throws at you.

Originally from Auckland, Nicole Pereira and Vita Vaka are now pillars of the Marlborough region, and especially of its Pasifika and youth communities. They moved to the region in 2016 after hearing from local youth that there was little to do in Blenheim and since then, the pair have made it their mission to change that. Their group BCre8ve is about ‘creativity with a purpose’ and sees Nicole and Vita running creative programmes for Pasifika youth that aim to help participants improve their self-esteem and give them a sense of cultural identity through singing, dance, poetry and performance. Nicole and Vita also offer mentorships to local high school students and run a support programme for Pasifika parents called Talanoa Ako.

After 12 years of drug addiction, homelessness and incarceration in Australia, followed by several years travelling the world visiting prisons, war zones and drug rehabilitation centres, Owen Pomana is now an evangelist, preacher and community organiser who spends his days helping others, primarily working with Humanity NZ to feed Auckland’s homeless community. During the Covid-19 lockdown periods in Auckland, Owen found ways to increase the support to those in need, rallying the community to boost donations and distribution of food, blankets and sleeping bags. He also works directly with homeless people on suicide prevention strategies, spending valuable time with those who are often on the fringes of society.

Pam Kay believes that everyone who plays a sport also contributes to its administration. So when her children began swimming lessons at Gisborne’s McGlashen Pool in the mid-1960s, it was only a matter of time before Pam started volunteering as a coach. She was instrumental in fundraising for a heated indoor pool in Gisborne, spent decades as an instructor, timekeeper and committee member, and in 1988 she was awarded life membership to the Enterprise Aquatic Swim Team. She has also coached, refereed and been a committee member for basketball clubs in her region, fundraised for a new wharf at Tolaga Bay and to send a man who had a kidney transplant to the World Transplant Games in Manchester, England, and hosts a monthly roast lunch for up to 80 people as a way of bringing her community together.

Peter Simpson has been a valued member of the New Zealand Red Cross since 2012, and he is currently the Deputy Team Leader of the Hamilton Disaster Welfare and Support Team. He is one of the most deployed members of the team, having served during seven deployments, including the Christchurch mosque shootings, Kaikoura earthquake and Whaakari/White Island eruption. Within the team, Peter has created a culture of care and taught team members the importance of looking after their welfare, personally and professionally. He has run training sessions on personal preparedness, resilience, personal development and mindfulness. Peter’s service to the Red Cross is all done in a voluntary capacity while carrying out full-time work as a cytogeneticist at Waikato Hospital.

Peter Tolan is a well-respected business partner, project manager and chartered accountant who is best known in Marlborough for his capable chairmanship of the Marlborough Hospice Trust. He first joined the Hospice Trust in 2004, became its treasurer in 2010, and was named the trust chair in 2014. The Trust raises over $700,000 from the community each year and financially supports Hospice Marlborough to provide specialist palliative care in the Marlborough community. Peter has been a dedicated and committed chair of the trust, and in 2020 he was awarded a Marlborough District Council Civic Honours Award for his services.

Growing up in a farming family, 19-year-old Poppy Renton knew the stress that external factors such as droughts can have on farmers, so in early 2020 she set up the Hawke’s Bay Drought Facebook page, which now has more than 5,000 members. The community grew rapidly, with offers of help soon coming from around the country. The movement led to the ‘Rapa Feed Run, the Farmers’ Drought Shout, and the Collective Hug. Poppy’s page has connected farmers with each other and helped connect rural and urban communities. When Covid-19 lockdown hit, Poppy again swung into action. Hawke’s Bay farmers received donations of stock feed, as well as meals, groceries, and messages of encouragement: an example of how one simple act can have far-reaching consequences.

After having her first child at age 14, Rebecca Clarke was determined not to follow the path of many teen parents she saw around her in Wairoa. She finished high school at Wairoa College, then went on to complete a Bachelor of Business Studies, Accounting and Finance at Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), all while raising her two children. Since graduating, Rebecca has embarked on a career in education, working as a senior lecturer at EIT and facilitating Young Enterprise Scheme programmes. She is also a member of the Institute of Directors. She is passionate about improving education for her community and is a mentor for many young Māori women in the region.

When the Highland Home Christian Camp needed a new coordinator, Rebecca Gray immediately put up her hand – despite being just 19 years old, and living and studying two and a half hours’ drive away in Wellington. In the year since taking on the role Rebecca has led a team to put on four successful camps, each of which sees more than 50 tamariki and 20 young leaders attend. Rebecca works hard to ensure everyone is welcome, personally developing behaviour plans to ensure campers with extra needs can be welcomed. During level 4 lockdown in 2020, Rebecca and her team created an online camp, utilising Google Classroom, Zoom and a Minecraft replica of the campsite, as a way of fostering social connection during a challenging time.

On paper Robert (Blue) Newport is the careers advisor at Okaihau College, but in reality, he’s a selfless and committed champion of rangatahi in his community. His area of Northland has few employment opportunities, and Robert has been instrumental in helping its young people see their potential and pursue greatness. On his encouragement, many of his students have left the area to gain further qualifications then returned to serve their community and encourage others to do the same, an example of how Robert’s legacy will be felt for generations. He has also served as Rotarian for years, been chair of his local community board and the Pou Herenga Tai Twin Coast Cycle Trail Trust, and was recently appointed to the Northland Conservation Board.

Robert Tuahuru Edwards has spent his life serving his people. In 2000, after decades working around the Bay of Plenty, Robert returned to Ōpōtiki, becoming chairman of his local hapū and eventually of his iwi, Te Whakatōhea, which he led through fifteen years of economic growth. Alongside the mayor of Ōpōtiki, Robert helped transform the town into a bustling aquaculture industry; many locals are now employed in mussel farming in the area. In 2018, Whakatohea Māori Trust Board won the Horizon Business Excellence award for economic development. Robert is a great nurturer of the next generation, passing on his knowledge of marae and iwi history and mentoring aspiring directors and trustees as they work towards joining company boards.

Ron Heemi has spent his life making connections with people in his community, especially rangatahi. In his early years, Ron was a tutor for Mangatu Blocks, which created work opportunities and training for Mahaki people. Ron’s role was to collect the rangatahi and take them to farming stations to learn fencing, shearing, docking and other agricultural skills, setting them up for future jobs. Living in Te Karaka later in life, he became part of the Māori Wardens organisation and volunteered as a security guard at local marae. When he was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, he worked with Turanga Health to encourage members of the local rugby team to get checked, work that led to a nomination for Tairāwhiti Man of the Year.

Sabidah Gillespie is a long-serving volunteer member of Shakti Ethnic Women's Support Group in Christchurch which endeavours to raise awareness of family violence and supports women out of dangerous situations and into safety and self-reliance. After the March 15 mosque attacks, Sabidah worked tirelessly with Shakti and other agencies supporting women, children and whānau who lost loved ones. She visited them, supplied them with food parcels, drove them to appointments, and connected them to agencies for necessary support. Sabidah is also a prominent member of the Canterbury Malaysian Society, an active member of Rotary Club and Multicultural Society, and is a very well-respected member of the Islamic community in Christchurch.

Tokanui is a small community of about 160 people in the Catlins, and Sandra and Selwyn Earwaker are known as the people who keep the village moving – all with a smile on their face. As well as raising their three children, farming full time, and Sandra’s teaching job, the pair are behind a range of community events and services, from running the golf club and swimming pool, fundraising and coaching kids sports, to managing the local memorial hall. For 22 years Selwyn has been a volunteer ambulance officer in Tokanui, meaning he’s on-call three days a week and is responsible for recruiting and training the other officers. This commitment saw him recognised with a long-service award from St John in 2020.

In 2015 Shannon Te Huia established Pūniu River Care, an iwi-based initiative aiming to improve water quality and biodiversity by planting trees along the banks of the 60-kilometre-long awa. The organisation is completely rooted in te ao Māori and aims to improve the health and wellbeing of the environment as well as the strength and capacity of its people. The project ran a horticultural course through Wintec so local people could learn about native plants, and now has 30 local people running a 2.5-hectare marae-based nursery that produces 500,000 plants each year. Pūniu River Care collaborates with a range of organisations, including the Department of Corrections prisoner training programmes, schools, iwi, community groups and research organisations.

Three days before New Zealand went into level 4 lockdown, despite a full-time workload, an imminent transition to online teaching, and increased research workload, Dr Shyamal Das of the University of Otago saw a need for large-scale hand sanitiser production and kicked into action. Along with his six research students, he volunteered hundreds of hours to produce 1,200 litres of hand sanitiser for essential workers. Dr Das completed and maintained all the regulatory guidelines, responded to users, produced online presentations on hand hygiene, and consulted with other institutions to produce their own hand sanitiser. Dr Das’s sanitiser was used by dozens of essential services across Aotearoa, including Dunedin Civil Defence, the Dunedin and Canterbury Police, Fire and Emergency, and St John Ambulance Service.

Sir Graeme Avery’s career across health, fitness, food and wellbeing has seen him in a myriad of transformational community roles, from co-founding the North Shore Bays athletics club in 1977 to chairing the New Zealand Food and Wine Tourism Network. In 2019 he established the Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Centre, now the Eastern Institute of Technology Institute of Health and Sport (EIT ISH). This world-class facility is a real community space, with a goal of supporting every community, individual and elite athlete to be the best they can be. The institute also provides cutting-edge training facilities and is a forum for sport and health science education and scientific research and scholarship.

Despite a full-time job as a social worker and a family of eight children of her own to care for, Soli Leau-Bradnock saw families in her community struggling to make ends meet and wanted to help. In 2019 Soli reached out to the region, requesting donations of food, second-hand clothing, shoes and bedding, and opened Helping Hands Putaruru. What started as a small shelf in her office has turned into an entire room of clothing and household goods, which Soli sorts through and connects with local whānau. Soli now manages a team of volunteers and Helping Hands has expanded to include food parcels, blanket drives, and fundraising raffles as well as providing a safe space for people to talk and share their story.

At age 57, Spady Te Pou decided it was time to give back to his Waihau Bay community, which had supported him for years, so instead of heading for an early retirement he put his hand up for a volunteer firefighter and medical first responder role. Eighteen years later, he shows no signs of slowing down, and now leads a team of six volunteers. While Waihau Bay has a population of just 300, Spady has seen a range of emergencies over the years, including armed offender call-outs, fatal car accidents, and a fisherman impaled by a marlin’s spike. For Spady, it’s all about being there for “one big Waihau Bay whānau”.

Te Tai Tokerau has a dog whisperer, and her name is Summer Johnson. She has spent 15 years running animal rescue services, and her work is entirely voluntary, funded only by locals. Summer is based at a vet’s office in Kawakawa, but spends most of her days in her van, driving around, rescuing lost pooches, delivering kennels or pet food, and helping owners get their pets neutered. Her efforts saw the local dog pound’s disastrous record of euthanising more than 70% of its impounded dogs drop to below 20%, and she also fundraises to help people pay to get their dogs out of the pound. Every year Summer runs Bark in the Park, a festival that encourages responsible dog ownership.

Sunita Torrance is an activist, advocate and critical ally for the LGBTQI+ community in Taranaki. She is best known for being the force behind Rainbow Storytime New Zealand which sees drag queens run storytime sessions for children in public libraries and other community centres. The sessions have themes of self-acceptance, anti-bullying and diversity, and have been so popular that the two drag queens that front the sessions tour the rest of the country. In late 2019 Sunita was part of a group that announced they would stage Taranaki’s first Pride festival, a celebration of the region’s LGBTQI+ communities that would include workshops, a parade, seminars and other events.

Suzee Ross contributes to her Kaikohe community in a variety of ways, but her influence is most felt in the arena of sports. In 2016 she helped establish Mid North United Sports, with the aim of creating new opportunities for local rangatahi to participate in sport at a local, regional, and most recently international level. Suzee has been instrumental in Mid North United Sports achieving many awards for its contribution to youth in sport, community impact, suicide awareness, and supporting families in need. She is also a part of a group that worked to reinstate softball, tennis, and basketball into Kaikohe, leading to many Tai Tokerau youth travelling within New Zealand or overseas, with many gaining university scholarships or representing New Zealand.

Taimi Allan has translated her professional experience as an actor, and her lived experience as a person who survived both mental "illness" and addiction (including months in psychiatric hospitals, and Electro Convulsive Therapy) to lead Changing Minds. Changing Minds utilises the arts as a basis for opening positive conversations around mental health and celebrates the strengths of those who experience mental health and addiction challenges. Where many NGOs use a medical model to treat mental health and addiction issues; Changing Minds turns to storytelling as a strategy for people to unpack their distress, provide self-support, create resilience, and build public empathy. Beyond Changing Minds, Taimi works at a strategy, policy, and governance level, is the first person with lived experience to serve as deputy chair of the country's Suicide Mortality Review Committee, has been appointed to the inaugural Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission of New Zealand, and walks the talk by leading with kindness and compassion.

Tania Bristow is passionate about promoting Māori entrepreneurship in Te Tai Tokerau. Along with AUT and CoStarters this wāhine toa founded Te Kōrau, a wānanga-based business development programme for aspiring rakahinonga (entrepreneurs), and she’s a member of Kura Reo ki Whirinaki. As well as running te reo Māori, entrepreneurship and leadership classes at Whangārei Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Tania is a leader on the Future Leaders programme, showing rangatahi how collaboration with local government, iwi and businesses can bring positive impacts to their communities: currently, she is working with Future Leaders to organise a Youth and Diversity Summit, and during Covid-19 lockdown, the group delivered care packages to whānau in need in their community.

For more than 45 years Teresea Olsen has led Kokiri Marae, a marae-based, non-profit health organisation that supports those who are most vulnerable to poverty, violence and health issues. Kokiri Marae provides holistic support services such as whanau health, immunisations, food banks, Māori women’s refuge, and social services, They also provide advocacy and support to whānau dealing with mainstream services. During level 4 lockdown in 2020 Teresea created a pātaka (food bank) and used her workforce to distribute sanitation packs and food to whānau in need. Her staff checked in with the elderly in the community to ensure they were well looked after and set up a drive-through flu vaccination clinic and doorstep vaccinations for those who were most vulnerable to Covid-19.

After Vicki-Anne Parker lost her house in the Christchurch earthquake, she remembers being touched by a hand-knitted red-and-black scarf sent to her by a stranger living in Auckland. The effect of that small gift during a hard time was the motivation behind Vicki-Anne’s charity, NZ Gifts of Love and Strength, which sources donations and provides care packages to victims of severe trauma. The organisation was established after the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019 when Vicki-Anne provided care packages and three meals a day to 31 families affected by the shootings. Since then Vicki-Anne has supported New Brighton Primary pupils who lost their classrooms in a fire and a Christchurch family who suffered a fatal house fire.

Warren Brown’s day job is at a construction company, but his true passion is running STAROS, a bereavement organisation founded by Warren and another parent that supports those who have lost a child or other loved one to suicide. STAROS began as a support group in 2012 and in 2016 was formally established as a trust. The support group still runs every week between two locations in Hawke’s Bay, while the Trust supports other communities to establish their own bereavement support groups, as well as to raise public awareness of suicide, including recognising early signs of risk of suicide in Hawke's Bay and around Aotearoa.

In 2020 alone Wiki Todd has volunteered hundreds of hours as a St John First Responder, caring for hundreds of patients in the isolated, rural community of Kaeo, near Kerikeri. As well, Wiki is a respected Māori Warden in the Kaeo community, helping whānau in need, victims of domestic violence, and vulnerable youth. Wiki is also a member of the Kaeo Primary School Board of Trustees, secretary of the Whangaroa Health Services Trust, member of the Cavalli Volunteer Rural Fire Force, and a tireless worker at her local marae. A very modest person, Wiki says she is simply carrying on the community work her parents bought her up to do.