Cambridge’s Celeste Sandford wearing the kākahu and pounamu gifted to her as the 2026 recipient of the national 24-7 Youth Worker of the Year award.
Inspirational youth worker Celeste Sandford has become the first person from Cambridge to be named the national 24-7 Youth Worker of the Year.
The 26-year-old, who works primarily across Cambridge Middle and Cambridge High schools, is the fifth recipient of the award and the second from Waikato. Last year’s recipient, Morrinsville’s Matt Cook, was the first from this region.
She was presented with her award during a three-day national hui held at Leamington’s Raleigh Street Christian Centre. The event focused on professional development for youth workers and included workshops and keynote speakers.
“I was absolutely shocked when they called my name … so was my mum,” Celeste told The News, adding that mum, Dawn Sandford, is part of her team. “It’s really special and I am very honoured.”
The 24-7 Youth Work network, launched in 1998, connects a community’s schools and churches by providing trained youth workers who support young people and help act as a link between the school and the wider community. It also runs ‘Tamakiri Tapu – Growing Children’, which fosters wellbeing and resilience in younger children.
The 24-7 Youth Work national director Aimee Visser, who attended last month’s hui in Cambridge, said the network has 157 youth workers in 90 schools across the country. Nominees for the Youth Worker of the Year award must demonstrate strengths in the 12 specific practices. Their work in the school, church and community is considered, as is their character and leadership strengths.
“Celeste consistently meets the criteria in terms of who she is and what she does… her professional impact on young people is very high,” Visser said. “In fact, she has been nominated every year since the award started, which demonstrates the consistency of her excellence.”
Celeste, whose iwi is Whakatōhea from the eastern Bay of Plenty, came to Cambridge from Wellington when she was 12. She joined a Raleigh Street youth group with her friends and met youth worker Ashley Cooper.
“Then I left school, did the first year of a comms degree but decided it wasn’t for me, so, I applied for a few jobs but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Ashley suggested I apply for a job being offered for a youth worker.”
She had been volunteering in that space but wasn’t sure how she felt about going back into the high school in a new capacity so soon after leaving as a student, but she got the job and did just that. In late 2018, Celeste joined 24-7 and later started a Bachelor of Counselling through Tauranga’s Bethlehem Tertiary Institute. She will finish that degree at the end of this year
“I’ve found it interesting and really helpful,” she said. “The beauty of our role is that we aren’t parents or teachers, we’re just trusted adults young people find it easy to confide in. I would like to go more into the counselling side with young people… it’s easier for us to walk alongside them, support them in whatever they’re dealing with. I know roles like ours have a huge impact on their lives.”
Some of her early students are now part of Celeste’s team. Right now, her work straddles both the middle and high schools.
“There is really quite a difference,” she said. “The middle school kids think you’re cool … they come up to you, they’re friendly and open. The high school students are more reserved, but they have a deeper awareness, which means you can have really meaningful conversations with them.”
Cambridge’s Celeste Sandford wearing the kākahu and pounamu gifted to her as the 2026 recipient of the national 24-7 Youth Worker of the Year award.
