Northland

Yvonne Judge

Who benefits from this nominee's efforts?:
The entire Bream Bay Community from individuals in need to groups like firefighters and scouts

What obstacles has this nominee overcome?:
The group of volunteers who help her run the second hand shop, from whence all proceeds go back to the community, are aging and she needs more help.

What tangible results has this nominee achieved?:
Over 12 years since Yvonne began Scavengers, she's given about $200,000 away

Why this nominee is a Kiwi Battler:
It was in 1988 when Yvonne was raising money for her children’s time at One Tree Point School that she got the idea for Scavengers. She asked the Lions Club to make her a sign to get goods to sell for the school and she worked at ‘Out of the Wardrobe', a second hand clothing store. An idea gelled and she decided to collect goods to redistribute for the resource rooms at local primary schools. There was an empty shop across the road - to the owner’s chagrin, she asked for it for free: “it cost the owner $80 to let me in to see it because the keys had been lost. It had sat empty for 11 months.” Yvonne got a table, put some flowers in a vase on it and sat behind it……open for business. She and her team of volunteers have generated over $200,000 for the community since. Other than attending funerals, Yvonne has only missed one day of work in 12 years. Yvonne, now about 63, calls oldies every day, helps hungry young mums and gives everything she earns away while living on a pension. She runs the business out of a warehouse she purchased. When she was young, Yvonne was in NZ's first all girl rock band, the Fair Sect, and then joined Noazarc. She is a character through and through. Yvonne is aging, as are her volunteers and she wants to find a way forward for Scavengers.