Todd Muller: Awards nominations open

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller.

New Zealanders contribute 1.4 million hours per week of voluntary work. Now we have two different opportunities to celebrate those who contribute their time to helping our community, and I would love to see local residents put forward.

If you know someone who embodies the values of the Anzac spirit - comradeship, compassion, courage and commitment, nominate them for this year's Anzac Award.

The Governor General's Anzac Award honours those in our community whose qualities are embodied in the image of Private Richard Henderson; the man whose effort to save wounded soldiers at Gallipoli has come to typify the ordinary man stepping up to do extraordinary things.

The Anzac award can be given for a one-off act or for a contribution over a period of time and can be awarded to individuals or groups. Last year's winner, Banapa Avetea was honoured for helping prevent a major trucking accident and for his commitment to his community in his role as principal of Huntly School.

If you know of anyone who would be worthy of a nomination click here to visit the RSA's website for the forms and more information.

Similarly should you know a young person who has achieved outstanding results, or someone who has championed and supported young people to achieve their goals, put them forward for the 2015 Youth Awards.

The 2015 Youth Awards recognise 40 people and organisations across eight different award categories. The awards are diverse - last year recipients included the founder of the Christchurch baking army, which fed volunteers cleaning up after the Canterbury earthquakes, an artist helping young people to refocus on education after they had abandoned their studies, and young people tackling big issues such as bullying and global poverty.

For nominations and more information, click here.

Honouring our local volunteers is so essential because they man the many possible charities, fire service crews, and community support groups which we depend on as a community.

I would appreciate you writing to me to tell me more about your nomination - you can email me at Todd.MullerMP@parliament.govt.nz.