Judges say YES to community pantries

The idea that won the Gisborne finals of the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) was about community impact, not making money.

Keen to find out more?Anyone interested in finding out more can contact Ms Mintoft at: colette.mintoft@youngenterprise.org.nz.

Jayden Mihaka, Gareth van Vuuren, Vinson Parata and Sam Godwin Moa will travel to Wellington for the national finals on December 10 with their creation — community pantries.

The students built the pantries themselves, helped by sponsors who provided the materials.

They wanted to help after seeing the amount of food waste and the large increase of people on benefits after the Covid-19 lockdown.

They loved watching the community work together after placing community pantries in neighbourhoods around town.

The winning team call themselves Sun Upcycle, and were overseen by teacher Peter Varey.

They won over two other teams — one from Campion College and another Boys' High School team.

The confidence of all the finalists stood out.

Each team was given just five minutes to pitch their ideas to the panel of judges.

Regional regional coordinator Colette Mintoft thanked BDO for sponsoring the event, and EIT Tairawhiti for hosting it.

Ms Mintoft said they were looking for sponsorship in the region for next year's YES.

Published November 11, 2020 1:35PM

The Gisborne Herald