CANBERRA Raiders skipper Terry Campese's community work was commended at the highest level when he was awarded the Ken Stephen Medal during the One Community Awards held at Sydney Town Hall tonight.

Campese was honoured for his work raising over $100,000 for the Terry Campese Foundation helping out disadvantaged people in southern NSW, Canberra and Queanbeyan.



"I'm just happy to do what I do in the community and to try put a smile on people's faces," he said.



"It gives you a real grasp on life and how lucky we are, it's really humbling. When I started this foundation this award was the furthest thing from my mind."



With the Raiders star out injured for much of the 2011 and 2012 seasons he set up his foundation last year on top of his ambassador roles for the Ronald McDonald House, CanTeen and Raising Hope charities.



"When I had a couple of knee reconstructions I had more time to make a difference," he said.



Eight other people were awarded for their community work including Amelia Telford who won the Young Indigenous Achievement Award for her work in the Gold Coast Titans Beyond Tomorrow Program.



She has worked as the Indigenous Engagement Coordinator for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition for the past year.



The Volunteer of the Year award went to Grahame Wagener for his work setting up the Engadine Dragons Junior Disability team in the Sutherland Shire of Sydney.



Yolande Morris received the Women in League Achievement Award for her time spent accelerating the growth of women's involvement in the game in the Northern Territory.



The Community Grassroots Club of the Year went to Denman Sandy Hollow Junior Rugby League Club in the Hunter Valley of NSW. They were recognised for their efforts subsidising membership and club fees and funding coaches, first aid officers and referees.



The Service to the Community Award went to Ron Gibbs for his work travelling tens of thousands of kilometres across NSW running clinics in schools and communities each year.



Kim-Maree Teale won the Service to Refereeing Award for her fundraising activities to support the Group 6 Referees Association in The Oaks south of Sydney.



The National Teacher of the Year awards went to Margie Grant from Farnborough State High School in Queensland and Daniel Higgins from Singleton High School in NSW.



NRL Chief Executive Dave Smith and more than 350 guests from across the NRL and community came together at the awards night to celebrate the off-field achievements of its stars.