Stonehenge
The Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Mrs. Sarah Rose Troughton, is encouraging people in the county to nominate outstanding local voluntary groups for next year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS).
The purpose of the award is to recognise groups of individuals who are giving their time freely for the benefit of others. It is the highest honour that can be bestowed upon groups of this kind and is equivalent in status to the MBE. As such, the Queen’s Award not only serves to provide recognition of volunteer groups, but also demonstrates the high respect in which volunteering is held.
Mrs. Troughton said, “Voluntary groups all over Wiltshire play an essential role in the community and in many individuals’ lives. They carry out tremendous work across many areas, including youth projects, multi-cultural, urban and rural community-based initiatives. I want to promote the opportunity for their vital work to be acknowledged and recognised in our county. I would to encourage people to nominate groups for a QAVS. It is our way of thanking them for the wonderful contribution they make to enhance the lives of others.”
This year The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service was awarded to SMASH (Swindon Mentoring and Self Help) and the Wessex Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, Warminster.
Any group of two or more people doing volunteering work can be nominated for the award and should have been running for three years or more. More than half the people who work in the group must be volunteers and must have the right to live in the UK. Further information can be gained from visiting the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/queens-award-for-voluntary-service/how-to-make-a-nomination
Nominations for the 2019 Award should be submitted by 14 September 2018. Those who know or have benefited from the hard work of a voluntary group, should nominate now. Winners are announced on 2 June each year.
