Her nominator for the Pride of New Zealand award said: "Debs has been a huge mentor to myself and she constantly works to better and promote positive youth development in our communities."
Mrs Allfrey and her team of teenagers are at the ready beside rugby pitches, the Coast to Coast event, A&P shows, marathons and inside their own school sick bay.
"I really love seeing kids progress and seeing them achieve things they never thought they could," she said.
She had a proud moment recently seeing her division's young people compete for the first time in the district competition.
They came away with placings, trophies and smiles on their faces.
She was on the scene during the major Christchurch earthquakes in her operations capacity with St John, while her husband helped Civil Defence and her daughter assisted St John Youth.
But not long after the Christchurch quakes, Mrs Allfrey lost Mickel, her only daughter, to a sudden asthma attack.
Approaching respiratory cases can still be a challenge for Mrs Allfrey.
But "it doesn't go away just because it's your problem", she said.
The kids in St John Youth, especially those who knew Mickel well, always made sure she was feeling all right afterwards, she said.
"St John is so supportive - it's like one big family."
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Nominations for the 2015 awards have now closed.
To see more stories of our wonderful nominees click here.
For more information on the awards go to the official website.
