First Antony Welton Fellowship winner

Young Invercargill mum Bailey Ives has been awarded Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation’s first Antony Welton Fellowship.

She’ll receive a $10,000 grant to further her education in restorative justice, so she can build a more equitable future for rangatahi in Invercargill, along with mentorship and a visit to the Vodafone Foundation head office in Auckland.

Ives (Ngā Raura, Ngā ti Ruanui) said she was feeling accomplished after hearing the news.

‘‘It’s pretty cool. I feel very proud of myself,’’ she said.

Although only 19-years-old, the Vodafone Foundation were impressed with Ives’ maturity, passion and drive as she has balanced being a mama to her 3-year-old son Te Ngaru, with full time study and part-time work.

Ives fell in love with the subject of restorative justice during her legal studies and said she hoped to work with Mā ori and Pacific youth in the future.

She wants to use her fellowship to ‘‘gain as much knowledge as I can,’’ but she’ll use a portion of the funding to take her son to Taranaki where her whā nau are from.

Murihiku Young Parents Learning Centre director Judy Buckley nominated Ives and said she was ‘‘absolutely delighted’’ that one of three the centre nominated had won the top prize.

‘‘To me, it felt like this was something that could be such a springboard for her.’’

Women like Ives came to education from a different angle, she said, and scholarship entry forms weren’t geared towards their experiences, she said.

The fellowship’s entry form required entrants to write personal essays and recognised their strengths, Buckley said.

‘‘I knew the courage it took. It was such an amazing experience for them to really be honest.’’

The fellowship, aimed specifically at young people who live in Invercargill and Bluff, is named after former Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation chair Antony Welton, who dedicated 12 years to voluntary service.

It was set up with funding from Vodafone New Zealand and its chief executive Jason Paris, who grew up in Invercargill, and follows on from the foundation’s Thriving Rangatahi project, which was launched in Southland in May.