Meet more volunteer awards finalists

In the past two weeks, the finalists in the 2022 Volunteer Award Programmes categories have been announced.

Now, we are proud to introduce the finalists in the Volunteers categories – hardworking, passionate and inspiring individuals in our community.

Leader of Volunteers finalists

Moira Parker

Moira Parker.

Moira Parker has been recruiting, training and leading teams of Otago Peninsula conservation volunteers for more than 41 years.

Organisations including Save the Otago Peninsula (Stop), the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group and the Otago Peninsula Catchment Group have benefited from Moira’s inspirational leadership.

Many of the hundreds of volunteers she has recruited and trained have become as skilled and dedicated as she is.

Moira works to discover a person’s passion by encouraging them to use their skills in a role they feel an affinity for.

Her volunteers are fully supported and treated with dignity and as equals.

Claudine Toleofa

Claudine Toleofa is the happy head volunteer and assistant coach at the Dunedin Group Riding for the Disabled.

Riding for the Disabled’s mission is to provide confidence, independence and well-being for people with disabilities through therapeutic horse riding and horse care.

Beginning in 2019 as a volunteer assisting with riding sessions for young disabled people, Claudine was soon helping in the paddocks, teaching other volunteers and often picking up poo, all with a smile on her face.

Everyone loves Claudine – the students, the volunteers and the horses.

Juanita Willems

Juanita Willems.

Juanita Willems is the inspiring co-ordinator for two community organisations: Foster Hope Otago and the Blind Citizens Otago Network.

In the past 10 years, Foster Hope Otago has provided thousands of the region's foster children with essential items and Christmas presents.

Juanita has worked tirelessly to build up a huge network of people and community organisations who volunteer for and support Foster Hope.

Recently, Juanita has also taken on the co-ordinator role for the Blind Citizens Otago Network.

Juanita leads volunteers by example, never asking anyone to do something she wouldn’t do herself.

Juanita goes quietly about her volunteering all while suffering from the immense pain of losing her vision.

For this reason she is also a finalist for the Volunteer Resilience Award.

Volunteer Resilience finalists

Emmerson-Leigh Morgan

Emmerson-Leigh Morgan and son Kees.

Emmerson-Leigh Morgan is no stranger to giving care to the Otago community.

Her own charity, set up in the memory of her baby daughter, supplies cuddle cots to Queen Mary and Dunedin hospitals, and at Easter and Christmas, she and her family dress up and visit children in hospital.

Baking for a wide range of charities, helping friends to deliver emergency department kiddy packs and supporting Babyloss awareness week are just some of her selfless acts

A busy mum, Emmerson-Leigh volunteered for the Age Concern Visiting Service and for four years, she and her young son Kees provided friendship and companionship to a client in need.

Emmerson-Leigh has suffered grief but, with resilience, she has channelled this into making a heart-warming difference in her community.

Nick Chisholm

Nick Chisholm.

For Nick Chisholm, helping others is his job, completely unpaid.

After suffering a stroke on the rugby field in 2000 and being diagnosed with locked-in syndrome, Nick fought back to achieve incredible physical results.

Founding Iron Warriors was his way of helping others who had suffered strokes or traumatic brain injuries.

Passionate about rehabilitation, Nick and his team provide free support and training to people with a variety of disabilities, taking into account exercise, nutrition, functional movement and mental health.

Visiting schools and community groups and coaching teams, Nick educates people about disability and staying positive in the face of challenges.