‘Overwhelmed’ at Queen’s honour
Maundy Relief charity gets prestigious volunteering accolade
ACCRINGTON’S Maundy Relief has been bestowed with the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS).
The charity, which has the simple aim of ‘providing an immediate response to those in need’, was one of nine groups across Lancashire celebrating this week, after picking up the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The honour comes after just months after Maundy was selected as one of ten nationwide winners at the 2020 GSK IMPACT Awards for its work tackling poverty.
In a statement, Maundy Relief said: “We are absolutely overjoyed to receive The Queen’s Award for Volunteering.
“It is a real honour, one which we could have never achieved without our amazing volunteers. We thank each and every one of you, this award is for you.”
Hyndburn MP Sara Britcliffe spoke of her pride on her Facebook page saying she was “thrilled” for the team.
She said: “Huge congratulations to the team from Maundy Relief who have been awarded the 2020 Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
“I’m exceptionally proud of all our local volunteers and community support, but special thanks needs to go to Maundy Relief for all the work they do across Hyndburn.
“They work on the frontline in the community by responding immediately to need whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.
“During the recent crisis they have been providing lunches alongside supporting many struggling people.
“I’m thrilled for Maundy
Relief and this award has certainly gone to the right place.”
The group’s services include counselling to adults and young people; anger management; a drop-in centre; and a furniture shop.
Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw, who visited the charity earlier this year to find out about its work helping to divert people from a life of crime, added his congratulations.
He told the Observer: “I am pleased to hear Maundy Relief have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
“When I visited back in January to see one of the local projects supported by my Reducing Reoffending Fund, it was clear to see the positive impact it is having on people’s lives.”
Announced each year on June 2, the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation, the QAVS aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities.
Representatives of the winning groups will receive the award from Lord Shuttleworth, Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, later this summer.
Furthermore, two volunteers from each will be invited to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2021.
The nomination window for the 2021 awards is now open until late September.