Nominations for the 2016 Wellington Regional Airport Community Awards open on 1 April. They are a great opportunity to say thank you to the many volunteers working tirelessly to support our local communities.
The 2015 Supreme Award winners from each of the 5 councils in the Wellington region
An annual highlight
The Awards are a highlight of our year at Wellington Community Trust. It gives us great pleasure to be able to reward – with celebration and prizes – groups that do amazing jobs in our community. Jan Dowland, Chair of Wellington Community Trust said recently, ‘These awards have been held for over 10 years in partnership with Wellington Airport and our 5 local authorities. Our involvement with them is one of my most rewarding roles.’
Wellington Airport Community Awards gala dinner on 10 November 2015 at Te Papa Photo: Mark Tantrum
2016 nominations
Nominations open on 1 April and close on 31 May.
You can nominate a volunteer organisation in your area for an award – it could be one you care about, one you are part of, or both.
There are prizes in 6 categories:
- Arts and culture
- Health and wellbeing
- Heritage and environment
- Sport and leisure
- Educational and child/youth development, and
- the Rising Star Award.
Each council hosts their own local award ceremony and the supreme winners for the whole region are announced at a glittering occasion hosted by Wellington Airport.
2015 winners
So much good work in our community flies under the radar. Last year more than 60 groups were winners or runners-up for the Community Awards. They appreciated being acknowledged and getting a little more visibility for their work.
It was a revelation to many people to discover the amazing work being done by the 2015 supreme winners, Earthlink who are based in Lower Hutt. From recycling thousands of tonnes of fabric into children’s clothing or curtains to finding employment for more than 800 people recovering from mental health and addiction issues, they make an immeasurable difference in their community.
Shirley Cressy and colleagues from Earthlink accept the Supreme Award from Chair of Wellington Community Trust, Jan Dowland and the CEO of Wellington Airport, Steve Sanderson. Photo: Mark Tantrum
Find out more about Earthlink’s work on Youtube
The Rising Star Award
Last year we introduced the Rising Star Award which recognises smaller, grass roots organisations that are doing great things across the region.The first Rising Star Award went to another employment initiative, The Shed Project in Kapiti.