The Queensland Young Award Winners 2011 were announced on 4 October. The Queensland Young Volunteer Awards recognise and reward the positive contributions made by young people aged 12 to 25.
Community leaders and community organisations nominated young people for their voluntary contributions to Queensland. Nominations were received across seven categories: green volunteers, social innovators, community service volunteers, sport and recreation volunteers, online volunteers, school action volunteers, and arts and culture volunteers.
The award winners were selected by a panel of judges based on their achievements and the benefits their communities received as a result of their volunteering activities. The winners received $500 and a certificate of recognition.
Table of contents:
Award winners
Art and culture volunteers
William Haupt
William has been sharing his passion for his Aboriginal heritage for more than half his life.
After watching an Aboriginal dance group in 2009 he and three friends became inspired and began practising Aboriginal dance in William's backyard. In early 2010 they performed at the Oakey Reconciliation Concert. This inspired many more people, and now William is tutor and choreographer of his own dance group 'Kooma-Didgeri'. This group has involved up to 30 people of both Indigenous and non-indigenous backgrounds and continues to perform at district events.
William is an accomplished didgeridoo player and was a featured performer in Education Queensland's Creative Generation State Schools Onstage extravaganza. Over the past 18 months William has shared his knowledge of didgeridoo playing with four local Indigenous boys.
Latonya Wigginton
Latonya is a talented young performer who has started her own circus group, Circ-It.
In 2009 Latonya organised a group of friends to participate in the Boonah flood and fire relief concert using her training with the Flipside Youth Circus in Brisbane to develop a routine.
Since then the group has grown and performed at many local events. Latonya coaches a group of about 10 girls and boys in the skills of skipping, hula hooping, basic tumbling and acrobatics as well as performance skills.
Latonya's volunteering with Circ-It involves choreographing routines and coaching the group, liaising with event managers, and fundraising for costumes as well as transportation.
Rachael Watson
Rachael is involved with The Cerebral Palsy League's (CPL) Screech Theatre Group that provides the opportunity for young people to express their creative abilities to devise an original play, musical theatre piece or short movie which is then performed to a live audience.
Starting out as a performer, Rachael is now a key player in organising students and CPL clients to take part in each production. She is known for staying behind after rehearsals to assist the director with planning needs and taking the initiative in organising different parts of the rehearsals.
Rachael knows how important it is to have a good support network. She is a leader and motivator to others. Whenever an opportunity small or large presents itself, Rachael pro-actively creates awareness of cerebral palsy.
Rachael also volunteers in the sport and recreation area.
Community service volunteers
Amy Dowie
Amy is an inspirational young woman who volunteers at her school and with local community groups.
She is Youth Delegate for her local PCYC and is also one of the senior youth facilitators of their Youth Management Team. As part of this role, Amy is involved in fundraising events. These events are aimed at engaging youth to participant in Friday Night Skating, Random Tuesday and other activities. She also supervises young people from Prep to year 12. Amy has attended the State Youth Leadership Program and has completed all three levels of training.
Amy helps out with the Blackwater Combined Schools Concert Band, which toured Western Queensland in September. When not at school, Amy can be found at one of any number of volunteering places in Blackwater. She helps organise programs, games and supervises camps for the young teams of the Blackwater Scouts Association. Attending the first ever Cuboree in Stanthorpe September 2010, Amy was a young assistant to leaders.
Nathan Williams
Nathan started volunteering at the ripe old age of four and has been making invaluable contributions to Bundaberg residents ever since.
He volunteers for many organisations including the Bundaberg and District Landcare Association, Royal Flying Doctor Auxiliary, Australian Sugar Cane Railway, Cancer Council of Queensland and the State Emergency Services.
In the past twelve months Nathan has created a 15-page monthly volunteering newsletter with advertisements and other information for non-profit groups and a Bundaberg Local Heritage Register and Heritage Plan which the local council are currently looking for ways to utilise.
Currently, Nathan is working on a grants portal to make it easier for community group to find a list of grants they may be eligible for, and organising Bundaberg's 130th event, and considering holding a National ASD conference.
Ria Ferris
Ria is a speech pathologist on the Sunshine Coast who identified a community need for adults and adolescents with a stutter in the local area to receive peer networking and support. As a result, Ria formed the Sunshine Coast branch of the Australian Speak Easy Association Inc.
She promoted community awareness about the challenges faced by people with a stutter, coordinated the group of members and created an online forum where they can communicate. Ria chairs and attends fortnightly meetings and workshops and has also been instrumental in fundraising activities to fund future events for the group.
Green volunteers
Kieran Smith
Kieran was introduced to the Fraser Coast Training Employment Support Service Wildlife Sanctuary through a program known as Youth Connection. Since that introduction 15 months ago, Kieran often volunteers seven days a week. Without his support the sanctuary would have had to turn away some of the animals they have helped over this time.
Kieran is the youngest exhibition leader at the sanctuary and is responsible for educating up to 20 participants at any one time on snake handling and safety.
Not only does Kieran help animals but he now supports new participants of Youth Connection by sharing his story and providing peer support.
Stephanie Freeman
For the past five years Stephanie has volunteered at the Kumbartcho Environment Sanctuary where she has become an experienced and valuable volunteer.
Last year Stephanie travelled to north Queensland to work with Conservation Volunteers Australia clearing away invasive weeds to allow the natural fauna to bloom.
Stephanie was selected to be a river ambassador and to participate with the Bunya to Bay Eco adventure. As she paddled the 350 km journey she carried out scientific testing and research. Stephanie educated school children about the Brisbane River and surrounding land and was responsible for showing other students just how interesting research can be.
Stephanie was also selected to attend the 2010 International Kids Teaching Kids Coastal Conference held on the Sunshine Coast. This Conference gave children from across Australia and around the world a chance to discuss environmental issues.
Online volunteers
Christopher Eigeland
Chris is a great example of how online volunteering enables Queenslanders to make a difference on a local and international level. Following the flooding earlier this year, Chris established the OurStories website. The digital storytelling platform gave people who were affected by the floods the opportunity to tell their story and encouraged readers to donate directly to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal.
Chris is the founding President of the Griffith University chapter of Students in Free Enterprise. This student-driven organisation encourages student volunteer involvement by facilitating volunteering opportunities within the local community and overseas.
Chris is a Global Voices board member which is a student-led organisation providing opportunities for young Australians to research, discuss and contribute to foreign policy both home and abroad and facilitates opportunities for Australian youth to attend international forums and conferences.
Chris also co-founded 'The Schoolbag' an initiative supporting students desperately in need of resources by providing school bags full of necessary items. Chris has recently returned from Haiti where the Schoolbag team successfully distributed resources to over 11,000 students.
School action volunteers
Sarina State High School – Community Engagement Program
Jamie and Renee Brease were two of the six students from Sarina State High School who have seen how you can make your own life better by helping others.
The high school students work with groups of year one students from a local primary school with literacy skills such as reading, word exercises and hands on activities. The high school students have had to develop their own strategies for engaging the little ones in activities. In doing this they have become mentors to the younger students demonstrating responsibility and resilience through their volunteer work.
Social innovators
Jessica Lawson
Jessica and a group of friends have been making a difference to the lives of women with breast cancer.
After attending a `Girls Night In' fundraising event, Jessica was inspired to support women with breast cancer. She set up the Young Ladies of St Andrew's to donate soaps and body wash to these women and also hosted fundraising events.
Jessica initiated links with volunteers at the Cancer Council and supports them in producing 'fluffies' which are soft material products to put inside the bra after having a mastectomy. Jessica's volunteer work has had a great impact on the school community as well as the impact on the Cancer Council and women receiving the fluffies.
Dane Moores
Dane is the co-founder of a street library for homeless youth on the Gold Coast. He has designed a website for the library (www.gcstreetlibrary.org) and collected hundreds of books from his local community. Dane has applied for grants from the Federal Government and a number of corporate bodies to buy and renovate a van so it can become a functional mobile library.
Dane also volunteers with Youth Without Borders, an organisation empowering youth to work together to make positive changes within their community. Dane is developing a Youth Connect program by compiling a list of volunteering opportunities on the Gold Coast.
As well as these local activities, Dane is a Young Ambassador for UNICEF Australia, a member of the National Youth Advisory Group at Amnesty International Australia and he has interned at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Gabrijela Palavra
Gabrijela is very involved with the Croatian community on the Gold Coast and uses her experience as a migrant to help new migrants settle into Australia.
Gabrijela is currently secretary for the Croatian Club Committee as well as co-ordinating, planning and organising social and charity fundraising events including the Cro-Octoberfest, Miss Croatia Gold Coast Dinner Dance and the Miss Croatia Gold Coast Knights 2011 with the Gold Coast Knights Soccer Committee. She also helped organise a three division girl's soccer team.
Gabrijela has also proven to be an asset to the Croatian pensioners. She translates English to Croatian and vice versa for older people to help them perform everyday transactions and takes members with mobility issues to outings and lunches.
Sport and recreation volunteers
Travis Tran
Travis is a talented young skateboarder who volunteers with the Cerebral Palsy League (CPL). He has been a regular participant of their annual activity group program.
In 2010, CPL initiated a second activity group aimed at a younger group of six to nine year olds and they wanted an older member to contribute and offer support to the young ones.
Travis became the group leader for the four week program. He attended an intensive planning meeting with different CPL representatives to discuss the scope of the activity and develop all the roles for the group including his own. He then took a very active part in the new activity group.
As a result, the young people work well together and participants have been keen to try new activities that Travis promoted. Travis has been an inspiration to the younger children.
Marcus Ellison
Marcus joined the Yaralla football club after moving to Gladstone in 2010 and he has proven to be an asset to the club ever since.
Marcus' passion for football led him to volunteer to help organise the home games,
join the committee and take on the role of fundraising officer. He has successfully attained grants for the committee and is in the process of building a relationship between the Yaralla Club and a local migrant women's group to allow the organisations to assist each other in mutually beneficial ways.
Marcus has also helped the club to develop an online presence so the club can communicate with its members more effectively. He also coaches an under-13s girls team and conducts goal keeper training sessions.
Past winners
Further information
Office for Volunteering Department of Communities
- Phone:
- 07 3405 4186
- Email:
- volunteering@communities.qld.gov.au
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