The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service has recognised 244 organisations across the UK.
It is the highest award granted to volunteers and is often referred to as an MBE for charities.
Organisations that were recognised ranged from food banks and hospitals to village shops and horse riding schools.
Nigel Huddleston, the minister for civil society, said: “Our volunteers give up their time to help others and the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recognises their selfless acts of generosity and kindness.
“I congratulate all the awardees whose hard work and dedication is rightly recognised in this milestone year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”
‘What an honour!’
Stainsby Folk Group, a small charity in Derbyshire that organises a family-friendly music festival, was one of the winners.
In a statement, the charity said: “This award belongs to all those volunteers (and there are lots and lots!) who help make the festival what it is. What an honour!”
Being Woman, a Northumberland-based charity, said they were “utterly honoured” to receive the accolade.
It is a charity that works to empower women in the UK and Pakistan with knowledge and confidence against prejudice. In a statement, Being Woman said it had “made history” as the first ethnic-led charity in Northumberland to receive the award.
Moray Food Plus, a Scottish food bank, was also recognised. A spokesperson from the charity told Civil Society News: “We are delighted that the volunteers hard work and dedication has been recognised with the Queen’s Award.
“We are so proud of all the volunteers past and present and we can’t thank them enough for their efforts which supports the most vulnerable in our society.”
Award will help charity to achieve mission
Park Palace Ponies also received an award. It provides horse-riding lessons to children aged four to ten. A spokesperson from Park Palace Ponies told Civil Society News: “We are thrilled to have received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service at Park Palace Ponies. Our team has worked so hard over the last five and a half years to bring ponies to inner-city Liverpool children and it has been fabulous to have this hard work recognised.
“The idea of ponies and horses in the inner-city is still a strange one to many, but we hope that we are going some way to breaking down the barriers that exist to learning to ride. We know that us being awarded the QAVS will go a long way in aiding this. Our dream is for an inner-city riding school to exist in every city, so that all children and young people have the chance to experience the mental and physical benefits that being around equines can bring. Hopefully, the QAVS will help us some way on our mission.”
Why do we need inner-city riding schools? So every child can get the chance to feel THIS happy.
— Park Palace Ponies (@palaceponies) June 6, 2022
We provide weekly riding lessons for local primary schools like @LawrencePrimary! Breaking down barriers to accessing horse riding! https://t.co/jkVjDxWw9M 👈please pledge! pic.twitter.com/TO5iTulMad
An additional one-off award for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was launched last month and is asking for applications from national charities that support people aged 16-25.
The deadline to apply to The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award is 17 June.
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