Philanthropists, charity professionals and volunteers were among those to be recognised in the New Year Honours list, which was published by the Cabinet Office on 20 December 2017.
The philanthropist Ken Olisa, who chaired Thames Reach for 20 years, was knighted for his work tackling homelessness and poverty. The former managing director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland and founding non-executive of Big Society Capital, Lady Susan Rice, became a dame for services to business, the arts and charities.
Rosemary Squire, co-founder of the Ambassador Theatre Group, became a dame for services to theatre and philanthropy. Jane Hamlyn, chair of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, received a CBE.
Other philanthropists being honoured include, Richard Mintz, who received an OBE and Rosemary Cadbury who received an MBE.
Blondel Cluff, chief executive of UK charity the West India Committee, got a CBE for services to numismatic design and to the Caribbean community in the UK and abroad. Elizabeth Dymond, director at the Charity for Civil Servants, also got a CBE.
Pat Armstrong, who has been chief executive of the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations, Sophie Andrews, chief executive of Silver Line, and Jackie Hewitt-Main received OBEs.
Other charity leaders to receive OBEs include David Johnston, chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, Gerri McAndrew, chief executive of Buttle UK, Naomi Marek, chief executive of Sky Badger, which supports the families of children with disabilities or special educational needs, and Annika Small, former chief executive of the Nominet Trust and co-founder and director at CAST (Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology).
Colin Morrison, former chair of the Royal National Children’s Foundation and Kevin Parry, chair of the new charity that was formed by the merger of RNCF and the Springboard Bursary Foundation, also received OBEs, as did Barbara Rayment, former chief executive of the Youth Access counselling network, and Bartholomew Smith, founder and chair of the Amber Foundation.
Some 70 per cent of awards went to people for work in local communities. This includes an MBE for Susan Coates, who took her first leadership role in the Girlguides aged 18 and who has now spent five decades supporting girls and young women across south west England and an MBE for Sara Fitzsimmons, who co-founded and now directs SiMBA (Simpsons Memory Box Appeal) to support bereaved families at the Simpsons Maternity Ward at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh.
There was also a British Empire Medal for Dawn Parkinson, a Samaritans volunteer in Belfast, and for Dave Williams, a British Red Cross volunteer in Shrewsbury.
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