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Young Wellingtonians celebrated

Young Wellingtonians celebrated

On Sunday 19 October the Pride Awards Trust hosted the fifth annual Pride Awards at Paramount Theatre in Wellington. The 2014 Pride Awards ceremony celebrated the achievements and contributions of twelve inspirational young people between the ages of five and seventeen.

The ceremony was a wonderful event enjoyed by all those who attended, including a number of Councillors from across the Wellington region. The ceremony was opened by the Deputy Mayor of Wellington City Council, Justin Lester, who spoke of attending the very first Pride Awards ceremony in 2010 and the growth in the prominence of the awards over the years.

Ken Daniels, the Chairman of the Pride Awards Trust, acknowledged the award finalists, their families and friends, and their nominators. Ken also reflected on the increase in the number of nominations on 2013, and how the high standard of the nominees had made the judging panel’s work very challenging.

Along with video interviews with each of the finalists, attendees of the ceremony were entertained by a wide range of exceptional performances, including from the winner of New Zealand’s Got Talent 2013, Renee Maurice. Other performances were from talented young people from the Wellington region, including the Livewires, a talented ensemble of four young guitarists formed through the Wellington Music Programme; the Hula Hoppers, a fantastic duo who have been raising money for a charity, ‘Books in Cambodia’, by busking on the street; and students from Anita’s Dance Academy in Upper Hutt.

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The winners of the awards were all incredibly inspirational and motivated young people who demonstrated extraordinary passion and commitment to their chosen field. They came from across the Wellington region: Wellington City, Wainuiomata, Upper Hutt and the Kapiti coast.

Reflecting on the awards, Deputy Mayor Justin Lester said he was “extremely impressed with the quality of the finalists and the winners at the Pride Awards 2014... they are Wellington’s budding leaders... Their compassion, commitment and dedication to serving local communities is heart-warming. A Pride Award is deserved recognition of their efforts and I congratulate the Pride Awards Trust for their acknowledgement of Wellington’s young people”.

The Pride Award winners for 2014:

Youth Leadership and Team Work Award

Junior award: Paris Lokotui (Queen Margaret College)

Paris is a leader in the sporting arena who participates in numerous sports and is a captain and co-captain of a number of teams as well as being in the choir and band. As a young person who walks the talk and leads by example, Paris is a role model for her team mates, peers and siblings.

Senior award: Madeleine Bell (Wellington East Girls)

Madeleine leads and makes a team contribution in a wide range of ways. She is a Model United Nations Ambassador, member of the Wellington City Youth Council and on the First XI hockey team at her school. With two others she set up the Manaaki programme, a mental health initiative to support students at the school. 2 | P a g e

Community First Award

Junior award: Mackenzie Madden (Upper Hutt Primary)

A St John’s cadet for a number of years, Mackenzie completed a bicycle ride from Cape Reinga to Wellington at just ten years old, raising more than $7,000 for St John’s.

Senior award: Matthew Strawbridge (Scots College)

Matthew is passionate about helping other young people with dyslexia. He has set up a website with resources and video workshops for people struggling with dyslexia. He has also run workshops for students with dyslexia in Wellington.

Creative Achievement and Innovation Award

Junior award: Peyton Morete (Te Horo School)

An aspiring singer songwriter, Peyton is a hardworking young person who has overcome her nerves in order to compete in song writing and performance competitions, often against much older students or adults and achieve success.

Senior award: Salem Foxx (Home schooled)

A talented dancer, Salem choreographs his own dances and has been successful in many dance competitions. He inspires others with his enthusiasm, blog, Youtube channel for dancing and through a documentary that was made about him for TVNZ’s Attitude programme about his passion for dancing.

Carers Award

Junior award: Ahmad Alshaabni (Berhampore School)

Ahmad is a compassionate, caring and committed young person who is constantly helping his family and community. He volunteers to help teachers prepare classrooms and organise events, runs errands, assists the caretaker, acts as a mediator in the playground and inspires other students to be helpful and make a contribution.

Senior award: Natasha Monckton Matthews (Wainuiomata High School)

Natasha acts as primary carer for her mother who had a stroke when Natasha was just eight years old. As a result she has had to take on the full range of household responsibilities.

Courage in Adversity Award

Junior award: Lara Cooke (Queen Margaret College)

Lara has shown courage and determination attending school and extracurricular activities despite undergoing treatment for leukaemia. She is an inspiration to others with her positive attitude and is well respected by her peers.

Senior award: Renee Patete (Wellington Girls College)

Renee has been blind since birth and is the only blind student at her school. She has shown strength when facing the challenges of attending a crowded school and working with technology that doesn’t always meet her needs to be fully involved in school life. Renee sings in two choirs, plays in a band, takes part in debating and had the courage to speak in a school assembly about the challenges of being blind.

Conservation and Environment Award

Junior award: Kate Pickard (Evans Bay Intermediate)

Kate shows her commitment to conservation as a bird banding volunteer which involves collecting important data on bird populations. Kate is an Enviro-rep at her school, has completed a project on the optimal bird foods to attract birds into gardens and shares her knowledge of the environment and expertise on bird banding with others.

Senior award: Taylor Finderup (Kapiti College) 3 | P a g e

Taylor runs a campaign to have shark finning banned in New Zealand called ‘Stop with Finning’. She is passionate about environmental issues serving as a volunteer with Sea Shepherd, Forest and Bird, WWF, Greenpeace, SAFE and the SPCA. She has been involved in beach cleaning activities and is the youth representative for Sustainable Coastlines.

About the Pride Awards Trust

The Pride Awards Trust is a charitable organisation that was established in 2010 to recognise and celebrate the successes of young people within the Wellington region. The Trust aims to encourage the community to take pride in its young people by recognising their achievements, however large or small. The annual awards ceremony shows young people that the community appreciates them and their contributions. By doing this, the Trust believes that young people will be inspired to reach their full potential and build a better future for themselves and for the whole community.

To learn more about the Pride Awards, please contact:

info@prideawards.org.nz

Pride Awards Trust

Registered Charity Number: CC47613

www.prideawards.org.nz

https://www.facebook.com/ThePrideAwardsTrust


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