The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service

Two groups in Inverclyde have been awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

Belville Community Garden Trust and Compassionate Inverclyde have both been honoured with this prestigious award which is regarded as the MBE for voluntary groups.

These Greenock-based groups are amongst 241 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups across the UK to receive the Award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on year, showing that volunteers continue to make an invaluable contribution to make life better for those around them.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation.

Representatives of Belville Community Garden Trust and Compassionate Inverclyde will receive the award crystal and certificate from Colonel Peter McCarthy, Lord-Lieutenant of Renfrewshire later this summer.

Colonel McCarthy commented: I am absolutely delighted that Belville Community Garden Trust and Compassionate Inverclyde have been recognised with this award. This year the award especially acknowledges the outstanding contribution made by volunteers in response to the Covid pandemic. It would be wonderful to see more excellent volunteer groups nominated for the Award in future years.

Councillor Robert Moran, chair of Compassionate Inverclyde and Inverclyde’s convener of health and social care, said: “It is an incredible honour to receive such a prestigious award and it is well-deserved recognition for all those involved with Compassionate Inverclyde who do incredible work across the district.

From the ‘back home boxes’ to the No One Dies Alone (NODA) programme, it’s an organisation led by the community for the community and showcases how caring and compassionate Inverclyde is.

Congratulations also to Belville Community Gardens for the amazing work it does.

We have an amazing voluntary sector in Inverclyde, supported by the council and health and social care partnership, and both these organisations epitomises that.”