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Press Release: 2 JUNE 2008
Queen pays tribute to UK volunteering groups with prestigious Award
Seventy-nine volunteering groups from across the UK are today announced as winners of this year's Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, recognising the outstanding contributions made to local communities by groups voluntarily devoting their time for the benefit of others.
The prestigious National Honour, which is equivalent to the MBE, sets the national benchmark for excellence in volunteering, and the activities of those awarded have been judged of the highest standard.
Those receiving the Award for 2008 range from a community club in Preston working to divert local children away from crime, to a voluntary organisation providing holidays for people with special needs in Exeter and a County Down mountain rescue team aiding lost or injured climbers*.
The winners were selected from 379 groups nominated by members of the public who have been helped personally or witnessed the benefits of a group's work in their community. They will be presented with an exclusive crystal trophy marking their success at one of a number of special local ceremonies being given by the Queen's Lord Lieutenants.
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, congratulated the 2008 winners on their success, saying:
“It gives me great honour to pay tribute to all this year's recipients of the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, who have made, and continue to make such a positive difference to many people's lives right across our society.
“Volunteering groups contribute hugely to their communities, often without praise for the incredible job they do, and it is important for all of us to recognise their work in helping others and hopefully gain inspiration from their achievements.”
More than 600 groups around the UK have now won the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, over the six years since it was created by Her Majesty to mark the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 2002.
For details of all this year's Queen's Award for Voluntary Service winners and information on how to nominate a group that really makes a difference, visit www.queensawardvoluntary.gov.uk, where a nomination form can be downloaded.
For further information
Mark Atkins, Consolidated 020 7781 2391 or marka@consol.co.uk
Helen Little, Consolidated 020 7781 2331 or helenl@consol.co.uk
Notes to editors
- * Callon Kid's Community Club develops a range of activities aiming to give children from the Callon estate in Preston aspiration through social inclusion, to steer them away from getting involved in criminal activity.
- Dream-A-Way is a group based in Exeter sending local people of all ages from around the south west with physical and learning difficulties on holidays and day trips, allowing them to fulfil a lifetime dream or just take time out from their daily routine.
- The Mourne Mountain Rescue Team, based in the Northern Ireland coastal town of Newcastle, is made up of a group of experienced mountaineers working voluntarily at all times and in all weathers to help anyone in trouble on the local hill range.
About the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
In 2002, in celebration of Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service by Groups in the Community was established. Its purpose is to recognise groups of individuals who are giving their time freely for the benefit of others. It is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon groups of this kind and is equivalent in status to the MBE. As such, the Queen's Award not only serves to provide recognition of volunteer groups, but also demonstrates the high respect in which volunteering is held.
Groups must be nominated for the Award – self nomination is not permitted. You can nominate a group (two or more people) if it is based in the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The group has to have been volunteering for the benefit of people in the UK or overseas for at least three years and more than half its members must be volunteers who have the right of residence in the UK. Groups solely concerned with fundraising for charitable purposes are not eligible. Further details on entrance criteria and the nomination process are available from www.queensawardvoluntary.gov.uk.
The winners of the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service 2008 are:
- Guernsey Jumbulance Holidays
- Isle of Man Breakthrough Breast Cancer Group
- Jersey Hospice Care Volunteers
- Jersey Citizens Advice Bureau
- The Jersey Across Group
- 1st Dickleburgh Sea Scout Group, Norfolk
- Brightlingsea and West Mersea Community First Responder Groups
- Centre 33, Hertfordshir
- Fusion, Bedfordshire
- King's Lynn Samaritans
- Nicky's Way at St Nicholas Hospice, Suffolk
- The Harpenden Trust, Hertfordshire
- Learn English At Home (LEAH), Surrey
- DAGE (Deptford Action Group for Elderly), London
- Volunteer Supported Education, Middlesex
- Redbridge Youth Offending Team Referral Order Panel Members, Essex
- Child Death Helpline, London
- JUMP 2K, London
- Inside Outside, London
- Barrow Dad's Group, Cumbria
- Whitemoss Club for Young People, Manchester
- Beacon Counselling, Cheshire
- St Luke's (Cheshire) Hospice
- Aughton Ormskirk University of 3rd Age, Lancashire
- Callon Kid's Community Club, Lancashire
- Facing Life and Pain (F.L.A.P.), Merseyside
- The Bridgend Centre, Cheshire
- Mourne Mountain Rescue Team, County Down
- Crossfire Trust, County Armagh
- Cruse Bereavement Care in Northern Ireland, County Antrim
- Aberdeen Arts Centre Volunteers
- Greenock ABC, Inverclyde
- Tayside Special Olympics, Angus
- Ardgowan Hospice Volunteers, Inverclyde
- West Alness Residents Association, Ross-shire
- Springburn Alive and Kicking Project, Lanarkshire
- Castlemilk Timebank, Lanarkshire
- Berwickshire Wheels Community Transport
- The Riverside Centre, Isle of Wight
- Springboard Project, West Sussex
- Post Pals, Surrey
- Crossover-Breakout, East Sussex
- Battle Area Community Transport, East Sussex
- The Salvation Army Haven Community Project, Hampshire
- Base 33, Oxfordshire
- Castle Hill Group, East Sussex
- Just Around the Corner, Berkshire
- The Independent Advice Centre, Oxfordshire
- National Talking Newspapers and Magazines, East Sussex
- St Sidwell's Community Café, Devon
- Bude Surf Life Saving Club, Cornwall
- Dream-A-Way, Devon
- Island Response, Isle of Scilly
- Nanstallon United Youth Football Club, Cornwall
- Crewkerne Aqua Centre Volunteers, Somerset
- Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service, Bristol
- EcoDysgu – EcoLearn, Bridgend
- Swansea City Bravehearts
- The Woodlands Field Group, Torfaen
- Rhyl South West Central Residents Association, Denbighshire
- Birmingham St Mary's Hospice Volunteers
- Wenlock Olympian Society, Shropshire
- Listen and Care, Shropshire
- The Wolverhampton Coronary Aftercare Support Group (WCASG)
- Biddulph in Bloom, Staffordshire
- The Lyneal Trust, Shropshire
- Hemsworth and District Community Initiatives Ltd, West Yorkshire
- Home-Start Leeds
- Hull Churches Home from Hospital Service
- Pennine Magpie, West Yorkshire
- Greystones Community Action Group, South Yorkshire
- Belford Junior Football Club, Northumberland
- CKI School of Martial Arts, Leicestershire
- Dukeries Community Workshop, Nottinghamshire
- Killingworth Community Consortium, Tyne and Wear
- Newcastle Muungano Community Association, Tyne and Wear
- Northampton Hope Centre, Northamptonshire
- Scotswood Neighbourhood Centre, Tyne and Wear
- Thorplands United Football Club, Northamptonshire
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