Thank you speech

Good afternoon, my name is Sam Verschaffelt, and on behalf of all of the 2023 Southern scholars I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Freemasons New Zealand (FMNZ ), The Freemasons Charity (FMC ) and to the organisers of this event for your incredible generosity.

It is an honour to receive our scholarship, and I am sure it will go a long way to helping each of us reach our vision and achieve our goals.

I would like to thank The FMC in particular for their focus on acknowledging contribution to community, and for rewarding those who are generous with their time and help others.

As a volunteer with Youth Search and Rescue (YSAR ), which is an organisation close to my heart, I can vouch for The FMC ’s generosity in supporting this cause, as one example of many. YSAR is a wonderful way to learn and grow as a person, as a team member and as a leader. It allows teenagers to combine a love for nature and tramping with the ability to learn real skills to help people in need.

The FMC helps provide the resources to facilitate the training necessary to empower young people and ultimately to save lives.

FMNZ and The FMC ’s commitment to community is inspiring. Today, as scholarship recipients, we thank you again for your generosity, and we honour your philanthropy which continues to ignite hope and create a lasting impact in our communities. Thank you.