ASB Good As Gold: Sam Parsons
09 February 2017 / Published in Your CommunityASB Good as Gold is an ASB initiative recognising, rewarding and
helping wonderful people in our community. We ask the public to nominate
people who are making a real difference in their community, have
grabbed hold of life against the odds or who really deserve help in a
time of hardship. The recipients are featured on TV One’s Seven Sharp
programme.
It’s not easy to build trust. For kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, being steady, reliable and caring makes all the difference. In the small community of Waitara, Sam Parsons goes above and beyond to help and never asks for anything in return.
For a young man of 24, he has an impressive attitude to community service and gives so much of himself to support those around him. He’s involved in everything; from running the local youth group, personally collecting and dropping off around 50-80 kids each week, as well as organizing free BBQs, helping at events and planning the local Christmas at the Park.
Every Wednesday night, Sam and a group of local volunteers host an evening in a church hall called EPIC Youth. This is an evening of organised games, music and dinner. Sam’s main goal is creating a relaxed environment for everyone to enjoy themselves, have a sense of togetherness and feel valued.
Sam now provides youth counselling to the local high school with his wife. Through his dedication to caring and always being there, he’s won the trust and respect of kids that aren’t easy to win over. He has no agenda and only wants to help – something we think deserves recognition.
A huge Guns & Roses fan, we gave Sam two VIP tickets to last Saturday’s concert, his dream Gibson electric guitar, as well as a $3000 donation to help fundraising efforts for a youth group camp. Waitara is truly lucky to have someone like Sam, and we hope that this gift can show how much he’s appreciated.
