Teenager Teri Dawson one of the Bay's Community Gems

Terri Dawson has found many ways to help the community, including making lunches for school children. Photo/ Andrew Warner

In a new weekly series highlighting people who do great things in our community, Bay of Plenty Times reporter Amy Diamond talks to 17-year-old Teri Dawson who spends much of her spare time helping the community.

Teri Dawson thinks the extensive support she needed in recovering from a serious mountain bike accident a few years ago might be part of the reason she does so much to help others now.

The 17-year-old Aquinas College student has mastered the art of multi-tasking and organising to keep track of all of her extra-curricular activities.

In between studying and working part-time, the Year 12 student gives a lot of her spare time to community initiatives because she feels "very lucky" with what she has in life.

"I've been able to go to a very good school, I have the most amazing friends and family and I was just given all of that."

Teri is part of the Young Vinnies programme, as part of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, and through it she has found a lot of ways to be involved in the community.

Once a week the teenager volunteers with the Full Stop programme and helps deliver food parcels to different parts of Tauranga.

The Full Stop van operates six nights a week at various locations and Teri delivers food with a team of people throughout Papamoa and Mount Maunganui on Mondays.

Every Tuesday morning she is part of the Loaves and Fishes Project, where a group of students make school lunches for children around the Bay.

More than 250 school lunches are made every week and the students deliver the homemade lunches to four schools in Tauranga. The public health nurse delivers them to a further six schools in more rural areas such as Katikati and Waihi.

Teri says she enjoys the project because she gets to give a child a meal they otherwise might not have had.

"Seeing the kids smile is all I could ask for," she said.

This year Teri created her own project alongside the Young Vinnies called Shoes for Feet where people donated unwanted shoes. She and other student volunteers gave the used shoes to young children throughout Tauranga.

Teri has also been a volunteer surf lifeguard at Omanu Beach since 2014.

Surf lifesaving is a family affair for the Dawson family - dad Glenn and brother Blake have been involved in the activity for many years.

Teri spends about 40 hours each summer patrolling and looking out for beachgoers, something she really enjoys.

"I feel like when I'm able to help others, I'm helping myself."

The selfless teenager says she would not be able to do all the work she does without the "amazing support" around her.

"My parents are insanely proud of me, they are probably my biggest fans!"

The busy teenager wants to become a human rights lawyer and eventually help many people around the world.

Teri's biggest dream is to travel to Cambodia and volunteer in different ways, which is why she plans to start working with the Cambodian Charitable Trust once a week in Tauranga.

She says the initiatives she's part of are all to do with teamwork and she would not be able to deliver food, provide shoes or make lunches for the community without the others who also give their time to the projects.

Teri's busy schedule

MONDAY - School, then volunteering for Full Stop delivering food
TUESDAY - Volunteering for Loaves and Fishes making school lunches, school, then football training
WEDNESDAY - Scholarship history, school, work at Maungatapu Pharmacy
THURSDAY - Teri tries to fit in a swim or run, school, volunteering at the Cambodian Charitable Trust
FRIDAY - School, work at a catering company
SATURDAY - Surf lifesaving during summer months on rotation
SUNDAY - Helps at church teaching children, surf lifesaving during summer months on rotation