Editorial Tuesday March 26, 2013

Doers of good deeds

EVERY town has them, people who do good deeds for no reward other than the fulfilment of knowing that comes from helping others and/or making their communities better places in which to live. The national army of unsung heroes have enjoyed, if that's the right word, increasing public recognition over recent years thanks to the likes of the Far North District Council's annual civic awards, but when it comes to shining a light on those who give selflessly of their time and skills, and not uncommonly money, there is no beating TrustPower.

Last weekend the electricity company, in tandem with the district council, once again called together representatives of no fewer than 24 exemplary organisations, from Kaikohe in the north to Invercargill in the south, all of them already winners of supreme TrustPower Community Awards, to select a national champion.

This is being written before the outcome of Saturday's judging is known, but the competition was very tough indeed. Those who took their eight-minute turn on the stage at Kerikeri's Turner Centre to explain what it was that they were doing and how that was benefiting others were involved in efforts ranging from keeping Rotorua beautiful to establishing a dialysis centre, from staging an Easter fair and promoting BMX and Maori and Pasifika culture to running an aviation museum and developing thespian talent.

The judges must have had enormous difficulty comparing such a variety of endeavours and finding one that was more worthy than the others, but that was the job they had to do. This, surely, is one occasion when the platitudes that anyone could have won, that the competition was extremely close etc etc, ring true. Every one of the 24 presentations made on Saturday revealed extraordinary commitment and dedication to a cause, and in many cases the ability not only to come up with a bright idea but to act upon it.

The real value of these awards perhaps lies in the fact that the very best of those ideas are shared around this time each year on a national stage. Only one winner can be acknowledged with the national title, but perhaps some seeds are sown that will take root further afield. Wellington City's Kaibosh is one project that could easily be replicated elsewhere, with the total support of the people who are now in the process of extending it around the Wellington region.

Like most good ideas, Kaibosh was a very simple one - that there had to be a means of making use of substantial quantities of nutritious food that was being discarded in the city on a daily basis by getting it to people who needed it but couldn't afford to buy it. All it took was the devising of a means of collecting the food, sorting it and allocating it to a number of existing organisations that were already in the business of feeding the hungry. That proved to be a quite complex but not insurmountable logistical exercise, one that was dependent upon willing volunteers who were prepared to give their time on a regular, timetabled basis. Those people were found, and Kaibosh has grown to the point where it now employs a staff of one, and even has vehicles bearing its name calling at food sources every day.

There are bound to be similar systems in place around the country, but probably not as organised or as efficient as this. And it seems that enormous quantities of food are still going to waste every day, particularly in the major centres. If the opportunity the TrustPower Community Awards gave the Wellington contingent to explain what it was doing and how inspires one other community to establish a similar programme they will have proved their worth, once again.

But while Saturday's presentations were extremely varied, many shared a common theme, not only of helping others in need but helping those who might otherwise be lost, to their communities and themselves, to make the most of the opportunities that can be theirs. The Far North contender, Te Mira/the Mill Gym, was one of those, its representatives telling what is really a remarkable story of how a community (Kaikohe) has come together to provide the means of giving youth the chance to engage in activities that are not only physically beneficial for them but demonstrably change their lives for the better.

It can hardly be said that people like those who have made Te Mira a reality, with extremely generous support from a number of businesses, have flown under the radar, but it's true that we tend to focus on the negative, even when we are surrounded by positivity. There was no more positive place to be on Saturday than the Turner Centre, and it was impossible to leave without having gained the impression that for all the troubles New Zealand communities might experience, many of them are home to genuinely good people who spare no effort to offer what others might need to enhance their own lives.

The TrustPower Community Awards make a phenomenal contribution to countless New Zealanders' lives, not so much by encouraging the good works that are being done - they would no doubt be done with or without the recognition the awards offer - but by bringing 24 supreme award winners to one place for national judging. It is inconceivable that those who take part in this annual event do not go home mightily buoyed not only by the contributions they have made but what they have seen and heard from others.

The common theme on Saturday was that those who had had their eight minutes in front of the judges were hoping to do well, but acknowledged that any one of the 24 could well win the national title, and deserved to do so.

The occasion also reinforced the fact that local people are more likely to come up with solutions to local problems than any outside agency, from the government down. These awards are about people who are doing it for themselves, and doing it, whatever 'it' might be, with skill, commitment, and often extraordinary success.

Therein perhaps lies these awards' greatest value of all, that they provide all the evidence anyone might need that communities have all the ability, and often the resources, they need to improve their lot. Over the last generation or two we seem to have collectively adopted an attitude that it is up to 'them' to fix whatever ails us. 'They' have rarely fixed anything, and likely never will.

The real power to bring about positive change lies within each small town, each provincial centre and each city. All it takes is the ability to see what needs to change, the vision to determine how change might be effected, and then the commitment to making that change a reality. It can be done, and is being done every day.

Most encouragingly, every year these awards turn up a whole new crop of worthy local supreme winners and national contenders, and will do again in 2013. Over the past three years the Far North has produced one national winner - the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust - and two eminently worthy national contenders in the Turner Centre and Te Mira. Advertising has just begun for nominations for the 2013 awards, and who would doubt that that process will turn the spotlight on more good people doing good things from one end of the Far North to the other?