Shropshire groups receive 2018 Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
Seven Shropshire groups have today received a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service for their work in their communities.
Recipients this year range from Church Stretton Good Neighbours Care Group, an organisation offering services to the elderly in order to alleviate sickness and infirmity and support independent living, to Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes who provide free deliveries of urgent samples and medical supplies between hospitals, supporting NHS patient care.
The unique UK national honour was created by Her Majesty to mark the Golden Jubilee in 2002 and to recognise the outstanding contributions made to local communities by groups of volunteers.
Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:
"Everyone who has received this award should be incredibly proud. Their service, commitment and care has a profoundly positive impact on communities throughout the country and I am delighted they have been recognised with this prestigious award.
"The record number of recipients this year is testament to the strength of the voluntary sector and I am sure this trend will continue into the future. If you know any organisations that deserve to be recognised, make your voice heard and nominate them for next year."
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Independent Committee Chair, former broadcast journalist Sir Martyn Lewis said:
"This year’s record number of Queen’s Award awardees are a powerful testimony to the remarkable achievements and innovative ideas which characterise volunteering in the UK. They prove that, more than ever, volunteers beavering away at grassroots level are the active lifeblood of our communities, identifying all kinds of problems and issues and tackling them with enthusiasm, talent and a high degree of success.
"The recipients of the Queen’s Award are at the very top of a formidable volunteering movement in the UK involving millions of our citizens, and going from strength to strength."
Any volunteer-led group made of two or more people can be nominated for the award.
The recipients in Shropshire this year are:
Church Stretton Good Neighbours Care Group
Offering services to the elderly in order to alleviate sickness and infirmity and support independent living.
Churchyard Task Team
Enhacning the wildlife and conservation value of Shropshire’s burial grounds through practical conservation work.
Knockin and Kinnerley Cricket Club
Fostering teamwork, respect and enjoyment of sport for all genders, ages and abilities in our rural community.
Shrewsbury Street Pastors
Caring, listening and helping vulnerable people in Shrewsbury during the night-time hours at the weekend.
Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes
Providing free deliveries of urgent samples and medical supplies between hospitals, supporting NHS patient care.
The British Police Symphony Orchestra
Uniting the police service and the magic of music to engage, excite and enlighten communities in the UK and beyond.
The Friendly Transport Service (Shropshire)
Volunteers providing transport and help for people in the local community who have difficulty getting out and about.
