Award Winning Volunteers – Presentation of
‘The Queens Award for Voluntary Service.’
Back in June, we were delighted to announce that we had been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. This prestigious Award aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities.
Our amazing team of dedicated volunteers and their hundreds of predecessors have always been at the heart of our work. It is particularly profound to receive the Award in this our 100th Anniversary year, especially after the recent challenges we have faced. In this respect, we were doubly honoured to receive an additional ‘Special Recognition – Covid 19′ Commendation, awarded to those who provided impactful support to the community in response to the pandemic.
4Sight Vision Support is one of only four charities in West Sussex to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service this year.
The Award was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation.
On Monday 8th November, representatives of 4Sight Vision Support including staff and volunteers, as well as local and regional VIP’s attended the Award presentation at our Shoreham Centre.
The award was presented by The Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex, Mrs Susan Pyper, Her Majesty The Queen’s representative in the county. Mrs Pyper was welcomed by CEO Kirstie Thomas and Chairman Norman Boyland. (Image to the right).
After bestowing the award, the award crystal and certificate were accepted on behalf of 4Sight Vision Support by long-standing volunteers Gill Calderhead, Jean Hall and Margaret Russell, all of whom had also been heavily involved with keeping in touch with members throughout the pandemic.
Thanking Mrs Pyper for the award, Norman Boyland said,
We simply could not function as effectively and reach as many people living with sight loss across the county without the tireless support of our volunteers.
After the ceremony, Mrs Pyper spent some time speaking with volunteers and staff about their roles, and in particular the support offered during the pandemic. The event closed with a celebratory lunch.
In May 2022, two volunteers will also attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace (depending on any restrictions at the time), along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
