Finalists announced: National Youth Volunteer Awards

Tūao Aotearoa Volunteering New Zealand is delighted to announce the finalists in each category for the National Youth Volunteer Awards.

Michelle Kitney, Chief Executive of Volunteering New Zealand, stated the purpose of the awards is to recognise outstanding contributions by young people across a range of categories and to demonstrate the personal and societal benefits of youth volunteers. She adds the quality of nominations was very high with some outstanding and hard-working young people being recognised by their peers. 

Youth Group of the Year finalists

This award celebrates a school committee, youth council, youth-led collective, team or club working together for a shared cause and making a positive difference for people, places or the planet.

Conversations of a Lifetime

Three secondary school students entirely conceived, developed and now manage a project that preserves the life stories of older people through filmed interviews, creating intergenerational connection and protecting community knowledge for future generations.

Kids Greening Taupō Student Leadership Team

This is a large-scale youth environmental leadership group involving more than 100 students across the Taupō region with older student leaders designing and leading projects within schools and their community, taking ownership of environmental initiativees.

The Winter Project

This secondary school student-run charity distributes warm clothing to families across Wellington through partnerships with regional schools and community organisations. All planning, communication, media engagement and distribution activities have remained student-led for 11 years.

University of Canterbury - Student Volunteer Army

The founding Student Volunteer Army organisation, now a 900+ member student-run volunteer group delivers environmental projects, disaster response, community support and large-scale volunteering initiatives across Canterbury and beyond.

Whangārei Youth Action Group

This group of approximately 15 rangatahi create and deliver youth-focused events, environmental projects, volunteer programmes and civic engagement initiatives across Whangārei. They identify priorities, design initiatives and drive implementation with adult support acting only as mentoring.

Kaitiakitanga Award finalists

This award recognises young people or youth-led groups taking practical action for the environment, including climate action, conservation, restoration, biodiversity protection, clean-ups and waste reduction.

Amber Cayley

Environmental advocate, conservation volunteer and co-founder of the Forest & Bird Taranaki Youth Hub, Amber Cayley creates opportunities for rangatahi to engage in environmental action, restoration and conservation.

Angela Schur

Angela was nominated for her outstanding commitment to environmental conservation volunteering across the Taupō district. She is driven by a genuine passion for protecting the environment and making a meaningful difference in her community.

Flynn Turfrey-Rowe

Flynn volunteers as Events Manager for UC Student Volunteer Army where he organises some of their largest environmental initiatives including The Big Give, regional volunteering camps and largescale conservation projects.

Holly Dixon, eleanor Thorpe and Dan Percy

Holly, eleanor and Dan were nominated as a group for their efforts driving the Kumutoto Restoration Project in Wellington, combining ecological restoration, predator control, environmental education and cultural engagement to restore Kumutoto Awa and surrounding ngahere.

Te Hōnonga a Iwi

Te Hōnonga a Iwi youth work in partnership with mana whenua to lead regeneration and rewilding of the local environment. They invest in all areas of the regenerative model across social equity development, environmental justice and commercial resilience in order to increase individual, community, ecological, commercial and planetary health by increasing environmental health and wellbeing.

Future Leader/Tuakana Award finalists

This award recognises young people who support, guide and encourage others as role models, coaches, tuakana, peer mentors or supporters.

Amelia McKenzie

Amelia combines entrepreneurship, school leadership, coaching and youth mental-health advocacy to create practical opportunities for younger people. She also leads peer supporters, mentors junior students, coaches Year 5 netball and uses her business platform for Youthline fundraising and youth empowerment.

Cameron Dickson

Cameron is a current student who gets involved with virtually every extra-curricular opportunity the university provides for students. He has led environmental, community-response and student-volunteering initiatives through Student Volunteer Army, while also restarting the Hūnuku Bike Workshop; demonstrating event leadership, practical teaching, volunteer development, and accessibility and advocacy for youth participation.

Eleanor Dunn

Eleanor Dunn balances her medical training with peer monitoring and youth tutoring, on top of her multi-year hands-on environmental dedication within the Otago region. Her service centres on making complex learning accessible, reducing educational barriers and building confidence alongside leadership of the Student Volunteer Army.

Jaden Movold

Growing up disabled, Jaden experienced bullying, discrimination, and low expectations. He was told competitive sport was unrealistic and that his future would be limited. Instead of making his journey only about proving people wrong, he has used those experiences to help other young people be believed in sooner.

Kiwikiwi Hawes

Kiwikiwi is an emerging takatāpui leader whose volunteering strengthens cultural identity, belonging, civic participation and peer support through s outreach, research workshops, tikanga and Te Teo Māori support, a Poi and Politics wānaka, fundraising and creating informal spaces of care for peers.

Unsung Hero finalists

This award recognises young volunteers whose quiet, consistent and generous behind-the-scenes service helps others, groups, organisations, whānau or communities flourish.

Alex Shanks

Alex volunteers every week with Blind Low Vision NZ's Indoor Bowls programme coaching, guiding and supporting participants with vision loss to actively participate in the game of bowls and enrich the quality of their lives. Alex turns up because he wants to help and impresses everyone with his respect, maturity and sense of humour.

Igor Cherniavtsev

Igor demonstrates patience, empathy and active listening skills through his dual roles as a Volunteer Interviewer at his local Citizens Advice Bureau helping community members navigate complex issues and access support, and at a retirement home where he provides language support and companionship for a resident living with dementia.

Lavinia Cambridge-Jones

Lavinia quietly baked every week for residents of her City Mission's Men's Night Shelter's before expanding her service through establishing the "Bake a Difference" school club, encouraging fellow students to contribute baking each week alongside her own efforts. Lavinia has shown leadership and genuine care with her generosity, as well as an ability to inspire others with her compassion and empathy.

Ryan Clearwater

Ryan volunteers with the Rural Fire Brigade, is involved in coaching Taekwondo at his local club and mentors younger students. Ryan just gets on and gets things done, showing that even quiet people make a significant contribution to their local community.

Talia Greer

Talia volunteers across 12 organisations supporting youth development, music education, scouting, fencing, hospice services, disability support and community wellbeing. Talia consistently chooses service opportunities where she can help others succeed. Her volunteering is driven by gratitude, kindness and a genuine desire to make life a little easier for someone else.

Winners to be announced

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who took the time to nominate a youth volunteer this year, and to our judging panel. Every nomination is a reminder of the care and skill that goes into youth volunteer engagement across Aotearoa.

The winners will be announced at the Volunteering New Zealand 25-Year Celebration in Wellington on 27 November. Please join us in congratulating all twenty finalists.

Find out more about the 25-Year Celebration · Read about the awards

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