The winners of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service were announced this week with 8 organisations honoured for their contributions to their local communities.
This year 187 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups were selected as winners out of a pool of 370 nominees across the United Kingdom. The number of winners represents a 60 per cent increase from 2014.
The Award was launched in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. The award is the most prestigious available to voluntary organisations and is the equivalent of an MBE for an individual.
The North East winners are:
- Durham Pointers
- Berwick Detachment, Northumbria Army Cadet Force
- Phoenix Theatre
- Tynedale Hospice at Home
- Cancer Connections
- Cornerstone
- Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland (RCTN)
- Royalty Theatre Sunderland
Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland CEO and counsellor Sue Pearce said on winning the award:
“The team and volunteers of Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland are honoured and proud that we have been recognised with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. Our work is with women of all backgrounds, of all ages, or all walks of life but who have all experienced sexual violence. This affects all women differently, which is why we provide face-to-face counselling as well as a telephone helpline. We strive to put the women we support at the heart of our service. This award acknowledges the commitment and hard work of our teams and highlights the necessity of our service, and we are incredibly privileged to gratefully accept this accolade.”
Members of their team attended Buckingham Palace on 28 May 2015 (pictured below) to represent the charity at the Royal Garden Party.
