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The youth branch of Warkworth St John is going from strength to strength, with numbers still growing and a number of members reaching important milestones.
At the head of the 50-strong pack is 15-year-old Paige Robinson, who has just become Warkworth’s first Grand Prior, the ultimate award for St John cadets, where she had to complete 12 separate subjects or badges, six of which were compulsory, and at least 100 hours of volunteering in the community and at St John (she actually did 350 hours).
As 2017 is the 90th anniversary of St John Youth, Paige will be one of 90 cadets going to Wellington to receive her award from the Governor General at Government House in October.
Paige, who is the daughter of Warkworth branch leader Sarah Robinson, has also recently been selected for the NZ national St John Youth squad and will be taking part in the organisation’s national competitions later this year.
At the other end of the age scale, Warkworth now has two ‘Super Penguin’ award winners and two more just about to complete the course, where children aged between 6 and 8 have to work through nine different skill badges.
“That’s two years of dedication from them,” Sarah says. “With that, and our first Grand Prior, it’s been a pretty amazing year.”
To cap it all, the branch has also just been named North Auckland District youth division of the year.
St John Youth is looking to establish a new group at Kaipara Flats at the start of next year, with around 20 potential cadets already showing an interest. It is expected the new group will meet weekly at Ranfurly Hall from January.
“Not many people know about us, but we’re one of the fastest-growing youth organisations,” Sarah says. “For every badge you work through, you learn an element of First Aid.”
Info: Sarah Robinson 027 322 9980
