There is just over a week left to nominate people for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service this year.
Warwickshire County Council and the Warwickshire Lieutenancy are reminding residents there is just over a week to go to submit nominations for volunteering groups, charities, and social enterprises across the County whose exceptional efforts deserve to be recognised by The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS). The deadline to submit nominations for the 2023 awards is Thursday 15 September 2022.
The Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Mr Tim Cox, most recently met with members of Volunteer Friends to present the charity with their QAVS 2022, in recognition of their support to local people who have been struggling with social isolation or poor mental health. The charity, based in Nuneaton and Bedworth, provides community transport, friendship groups, carpentry workshops, a dementia choir, and helps with shopping.
Volunteer Friends is one of five voluntary and charitable organisations across Warwickshire that received a QAVS in 2022, with Awards also announced for Harbury e-Wheels, Heart of England Forest, Kissing it Better, and The Pam Britton Trust for Dementia. The volunteer work across these five charities covered a wide variety of causes from the environment and climate change to social care and dementia.
Cllr Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Heritage, Culture and the Environment, said:
“The volunteers across Warwickshire have, and continue to, make an essential contribution to our local communities and support a variety of sectors, including protecting, preserving, and promoting our environment, providing for the elderly and supporting young people, or offering emotional and physical support to those in need.
“We would like to thank Warwickshire’s volunteers for their time and dedication in supporting this County and believe it’s important that their efforts and contributions are recognised. One great way to support this recognition is to nominate a group for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.”
Originally set-up to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Golden Jubilee, the QAVS is an annual award acknowledging the outstanding work delivered by volunteers who benefit their local communities and is the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The Award is presented each year on the 2nd June to coincide with the anniversary of the Queen’s coronation. All Awardees receive a certificate signed by the Queen, a domed glass crystal, and may also be invited to attend a royal garden party.
Mr Tim Cox, Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, said:
“The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest achievement that any charity or volunteer group can obtain, and is considered as equivalent to an MBE. We would be delighted to receive everyone’s support in discovering Warwickshire’s extraordinary volunteers that help our county in a multitude of ways, and put these wonderful groups and individuals forward for this national honour.”
How to nominate
Any group of two or more people doing volunteering work can be nominated for the award. The majority of the group must be volunteers, and more than half the volunteers must have the right to live in the UK. Volunteer groups should have been running for three years or more to be nominated.
The volunteer group cannot nominate themselves; they must be nominated by someone else.
The nominator must be:
- a member of the public with a good knowledge of the group’s work (such as a beneficiary or long-term supporter)
- able to supply two separate letters of support from two additional people who know the group well
The nominee should do work that:
- provides a service and meets a need for people living in the local community
- is supported, recognised and respected by the local community and the people who benefit from it
- is run locally
The deadline to submit QAVS nominations is Thursday 15 September 2022.
To nominate a volunteer group for this Award, visit https://qavs.dcms.gov.uk/make-a-nomination/about-nominating/
For support in completing a nomination, contact Warwickshire Lieutenancy at lieutenancy@warwickshire.gov.uk or phone 01926 412328.
To find out more about the QAVS, visit www.gov.uk/queens-award-for-voluntary-service