Wirral Foodbank volunteers have been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK, equivalent to the MBE for volunteer groups.
Wirral Foodbank is one of 241 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to make life better for those around them.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse.
They include volunteer groups from across the UK, including an inclusive tennis club in Lincolnshire; a children’s bereavement charity in London; a support group for those living with dementia and their carers in North Yorkshire; a volunteer minibus service in Cumbria; a group supporting young people in Belfast; a community radio station in Inverness and a mountain rescue team in Powys.
Representatives of Wirral Foodbank will receive the award crystal and certificate from Mr Mark Blundell, Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside later this summer. The certificate will include the following citation “Delivering outstanding service to residents of Wirral, providing emergency food, advice and advocacy.”
This year there is a special designation to QAVS awardees that “provided impactful support to the community in response to the pandemic last year – either by managing a significant increase in their usual work or providing extra support in other ways.” Based on the information gathered, the local assessment team has selected Wirral Foodbank for this special designation and will receive a slightly modified crystal with the words ‘with special recognition – COVID-19’ included in the engraving.
Furthermore, two volunteers from Wirral Foodbank will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2022 (depending on restrictions at the time), along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
Richard Roberts, General Manager, Wirral Foodbank says: “In National Volunteers’ Week, we are honoured to receive this award, it recognises the extraordinary team of volunteers we have, their commitment and dedication to the job and their overwhelming desire to help people.”
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