New Zealand's best volun teer group for 2007 nearly folded last year because of a $10,000 funding shortfall after it lost council funding.
The Palmerston North Street Van won the supreme award at the TrustPower National Com munity Awards in Wanaka on Saturday night, with its repre sentatives taking home $2500, a framed certificate, trophy and a prize package from Foresee Communications, a company which specialises in sponsor ship, fundraising, training and advice.
The organisation was founded in the 1990s to give teenagers a ride home after dark.
The award caps a remarkable comeback for the volunteers who were thrown a lifeline and undisclosed amount of cash in August by United Way, one of the fund managers for the Tin dall Foundation.
The runner-up, receiving $1500 and a framed certificate was Bike Taupo, an organisa tion dedicated to getting more people cycling, improving health and fitness, building cycling trails and reducing reliance on cars.
The awards ceremony at the New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum was attended by 23 groups, including five finalists from Otago.
MP for Clutha Bill English helped present the awards and spoke of the role his own mother's ‘‘community activ ism'' had had on his career and the importance of imagining a better world.
‘‘What usually makes the biggest difference in people's lives is help from people who have an ingrained understand ing of how other people live, he said.
‘‘And that's what you people have . . . You can imagine what can be better,'' Mr English told the crowd of about 130 people
