Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service seek nominations - 30th September deadline!
1. Background
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) is the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK. It recognises the importance of voluntary groups and demonstrates the respect in which volunteering is held. The QAVS was started in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen’s coronation and it is managed by the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office.
2. Nominations and Conditions
Anyone can nominate a group if they know about the work they do provided they are not a volunteer or member of the staff. The group has to have been operating for more than 3 years and to be providing direct or indirect benefits to local communities and it should do more than fund-raising. A group should be supported, recognised and respected by the local community and run locally. The nominations must have two supporters and be made by 30 September for consideration in the following year. Details about the QAVS and the nomination process can be found on the Direct Gov website.
3. Assessment
The assessment of nominations is done by the Lord-Lieutenant advised by the Office of the Third Sector and helped by a panel of local representatives. The representatives may visit the nominated groups to find out more about them and then help the Lord-Lieutenant to prepare a report and recommendation to be sent to a national specialist panel for them to judge. Each nomination is judged on the benefits it gives to the local community and there is no set number of winners in a region or a type of voluntary activity. After the national judging the Cabinet Office sends a list of recommended groups to the Queen for her approval.
4. Winning and Presentation of the Award
The winners receive a certificate signed by the Queen and a glass crystal and the Lord-Lieutenant presents the awards to the voluntary groups at a local ceremony. This year there were two winning groups in Herefordshire who received their Awards on 15 June from the Countess of Darnley at a tea party she hosted jointly with the Chairman of Herefordshire Council. In addition, the other groups whose nominations had been recommended by the Herefordshire Panel, but were unsuccessful, attended the ceremony to receive the Lord-Lieutenant’s thanks for their work and participation in the QAVS. For further information visit http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/UKgovernment/Honoursawardsandmedals/TheQueensAwardforVoluntaryService/DG_181020
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