Recognition for ‘Aunty’ to many
Providing emotional and financial support to vulnerable women in the South Auckland community has earned charity founder Jackie Clark the title of supreme winner at the 2018 Women of Influence awards in Auckland last night.
Her non-profit organisation, The Aunties, provides for women who are survivors of domestic violence.
It supports Te Ro¯opu O Te Wha¯nau Rangimarie¯ O Tamaki Makau¯ rau, the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, the emergency housing team of social workers for the Salvation Army, a youth justice worker and her clients, social workers from Family First, Strive, several other community organisations, and a homeless shelter in Manurewa.
Clark is the aunty in charge of The Aunties and set up the charity eight years ago when she realised there was a need for an intermediary to be able to quickly provide support for individual women affected by domestic violence.
She collects clothing, buys groceries (women send her their shopping lists) and pays bills for many of life’s essentials as well as some of the little things that bring women and children joy.
The Aunties is supported by a network of 50 men and women who have made a huge difference in the lives of hundreds of women and children.
Manawatu¯ teenager Maddison McQueen-Davies won the Young Leader award for her community work at the awards.
McQueen-Davies founded Share a Pair last year when she was shocked to discover that many children in the Manawatu¯ / Tararua region were attending school in worn-out and leaking school shoes.
Share a Pair distributes donated secondhand school shoes and sneakers to children in need. McQueen-Davies organised collection points in her region and she collects, sorts, cleans and sanitises the shoes.
More than 500 pairs of shoes had been donated by the end of April, with more than 250 passed onto struggling families.
Share a Pair has more than 500 followers on Facebook and McQueen-Davies has run print and online advertising campaigns to promote the cause.
McQueen-Davies also has a passion for science and technology, and was a recipient of a Eureka Trust award in July.