Ten-year-old Evelyn Sykes is a marvel at getting money out of stone.
Her love of painting stones and hiding them in parks for others to find — known as happy, smiling, or kindness stones — has now become a means of raising money for community projects in Sykes’s hometown of Carterton and neighbouring Masterton.
Setting up “stone” stalls on the roadside and outside supermarkets has seen her raise more than $1500 for Wellington Free Ambulance’s new station being built in Masterton.
She’d hoped her contribution would pay for the entire project, but at $7 million and counting, she’s three or four stones shy of the target.
However, Sykes will likely bring the station some more dollars after she was named the latest ASB Good As Gold recipient on Seven Sharp in recognition of her community spirit and kindness.
When told the ASB was giving her $10,000, her quizzical expression suggested the amount was a little beyond her comprehension. But she did offer that some of it would find its way to her favourite cause.
Her grandmother Carole Wheeler told Seven Sharp that Sykes is “a giver”.
“If there are three cakes and four people, she will go without. She wants to make everywhere a better place, but she doesn’t expect anything back.”
Karen Goodall, Sykes’s principal at St Mary’s School in Carterton, said she was constantly looking for ways to help the community.
“Her heart is the biggest you can imagine. She has oodles of empathy, and she’s always coming up with ideas of what she can do to support others.”
Sykes’s particular interest in supporting the Wellington Free Ambulance started when, as a five-year-old, she suffered a gash on her head after an encounter with a sliding car door and needed a ride in an ambulance.
After initially being scared by the ambulance’s siren, she realised the good the organisation was doing and dedicated herself to raising money for it.
“Now I just help fundraise for them because they helped me, and now I’m helping them.
“When someone is nice to you, it makes you feel happy and nice. And I want everyone to feel that way, so I try to be kind to everyone and do little bits in our community.”
And who could argue with that? Pure gold, Evelyn.
If you know a deserving New Zealander you’d like to nominate for ASB Good as Gold, click here.