NZ Fo Guang Shan members receives recognition at the Howick Local Board Volunteer Awards

The 2012 “Howick Local Board Volunteer Award” was held on the night of 18th July at the Pakuranga United Rugby Club, where 200 volunteers from the local community gathered to participate in the event. 40 volunteers from Fo Guang Shan were also fortunate enough to have the honor of receiving certificates.

On the night of the award, the Howick council chairman Michael Williams expressed his appreciation for all the local volunteers. Currently, 32% of Howick residents participate in some form of volunteering work, with an average time of 10 hours per month, which greatly aided the development of the community. There are many different kinds of organization providing volunteering work that includes charity, family support, art, sustainability, crime watch, health care and youth counseling. Recently, many immigrants have also joined in volunteering works, which is an encouraging and positive trend.

Over 30 organizations have nominated 200 volunteers for this award. For Fo Guang Shan, volunteers like Venerable Rulian, Venerable Miaoyu, and 40 others received certificate and praises for their work. On that particular night, the attending Fo Guang volunteers’ contingent was led by Minister in Charge Venerable Manwang; these certificates showed the contribution made by North Island Fo Guang Shan toward public services in New Zealand.