Nominate today!

The Editor -

Nominations are now open for The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service

The amount of work volunteer groups do across Calderdale on a day to day basis is astounding.

When you add in the work they have done to help us recover from the floods and the outstanding work that they have done during lockdown during the Coronavirus pandemic, we’re hoping more voluntary organisations will be nominated this year for The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.

This is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work done in our community. The honour lasts a life time and is the equivalent of a MBE for volunteer groups.

The Award recognises the vital role played by the hundreds of thousands of ‘unsung heroes’ of the voluntary and community world and emphasises the importance of continuing recognition of their work.

Any group doing volunteer work that provides a social, economic or environmental service to the local community can be nominated for the award. Each group is assessed on the benefit it brings to the local community and its standing within that community.

The Brighouse Swimming Club is our most recent local winner, and their Award was announce in June this year.

Kay Suddick, Club Treasurer commented, “Brighouse Swimming Club (BSC) are delighted to be awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. BSC provide a quality swimming experience and a lifetime skill from beginners to competitive swimmers. To receive the highest award a voluntary group can be awarded is just amazing and are very proud of the swimming club family”.

The Lord Lieutenant of the county, as The Queen's representative, will present the Club with a certificate and a commemorative crystal at a ceremony and will also be invited to a at a royal garden party at Buckingham Palace in London.

If you would like to have an informal chat about what being nominated entails, how to be nominated and the process, please contact Steve Duncan DL on 01422 349700.

Nominations need to submitted by 25th September 2020, so you still have time to enter.