Collinz Kennedy-Diack may only just be in double figures, but the 10-year-old Greendale/Tamatea Scout Group cub has recently been honoured as a double award winner.
Collinz was named as a top-10 finalist for a Fred Hollows Humanity Award during a ceremony at the opening of a community garden a couple of weeks ago. The Fred Hollows Humanity Awards are a global movement created to recognise passionate children striving to make the world around them better.
The Year 6 Arthur Miller School pupil was nominated by her cub leader Chris Comber (Kiwi) and picked from hundreds of Year 5 and 6 students all over New Zealand. Chris says even when Collinz started as a 6-year-old kea in 2018, she always showed a great deal of compassion towards others, helping not only those younger than her but anyone who was struggling, or just needed some help or someone to talk to.
"During that time she has really grown as a leader amongst the youth. At cubs, she has carried on that kindness and is always the first to offer support or a kind word to anyone that needs it, youth and leaders alike. She loves helping others learn new things and was a very easy choice to be promoted into the leadership roles of first seconder and then sixer (leader of a team of six youth). Collinz shows a level of integrity much beyond her years but still behaves like the kid she is."
Chris says during both lockdowns, Collinz was always one of the first cubs to do any of the community-based activities, spreading cheer to the locals with a teddy bear window display, Anzac Day poppies and Easter eggs.