January, 18, 2020
A committed Sri Lankan social justice advocate has been shortlisted as a finalist in a worldwide search for the most influential volunteer of 2019.
Juanita de Alwis is one of nine finalists for International Volunteer HQ’s (IVHQ) Volunteer of the Year 2019 scholarship, putting her in the running to win a volunteer trip to make a difference in a deserving community abroad.
Juanita has built a significant online following to promote worthy causes in Sri Lanka. She is the creator and host of an online community talkshow that aims to break cultural taboos and raise awareness of social issues. She is a volunteer community crisis responder, providing psychological and physical first aid, as well as suicide first responde.
Juanita is also an animal welfare and environmental activist, and a spokesperson for gender empowerment and mental health. She has run several online campaigns to champion the causes she is passionate about.
More than 1,000 people from 100 different countries were nominated for the Volunteer of the Year scholarship, which includes:
All told, the scholarship can be worth more than US$3,000. The winner will be decided by public vote, with votes able to be cast now via www.volunteerhq.org/volunteer-of-the-year/
About International Volunteer HQ: IVHQ is a pioneer of affordable and sustainable volunteer travel. Operating in more than 50 destinations across Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific, IVHQ enables volunteers to make meaningful contributions to community projects in areas of education, construction and renovation, childcare, conservation, healthcare, wildlife and animal care, community development and social enterprise. Since 2007, IVHQ has supported more than 110,000 volunteers to spend nearly 8.5 million hours supporting community projects abroad.
For more information, contact IVHQ Community Manger Nick Walker on nick@volunteerhq.org or +64 27 706 6238.
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