Astrid receives life membership award

Astrid Martin (left) with trustee Debbie Given. Supplied photo.

Life Education Trust Western Bay of Plenty Region supporters were acknowledged and thanked at a function on Tuesday at Copper Crest Retirement Village.

A Life Membership Award was presented to Astrid Martin, who has been actively involved with the trust and the programme since the mid-1990s.

Astrid initially started as executive officer, before training as an educator.

Astrid's passion for the Life Education programme and its mascot Harold the Giraffe extended from the classroom to the region. In 2003 she moved from teaching onto the board, becoming a volunteer trustee and then chairperson of the trust, a position she held for several years.

Astrid was the driving force behind the move from one mobile classroom to two, finding the resources and funding to make this happen.

Astrid continues to support the trust, from providing prizes for fundraising raffles, through to attending meetings where her expertise is needed.

Grace Hospital was also presented with a Community Contribution Award, in recognition for over 20 years of support, in particular the provision of a vehicle for one of the trust's two educators.

The Life Education lessons are presented in two mobile classrooms, which are transported between schools by local transport companies. The two educators need transport to get to these schools and Grace Hospital provides one vehicle and covers the running costs, as its contribution to Life Education in the Western Bay of Plenty.

Life Education WBOP Region chairperson Sue Boyne thanked the trust's major supporters and grant funders.

'We receive no government funding. The real cost to deliver the programme is $16 per child. Schools contribute an average of $6 per child, but the remaining $10 per child (about $120,000 per year) must be raised through grant funding, donations, sponsorship and fundraising.

'The support of our major sponsors and funders makes a huge difference to our organisation – it means we can continue to provide the Life Education programme to over 12,000 children in primary and intermediate schools throughout the Western Bay of Plenty.”

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