We are one of three voluntary groups from across the county who work in the community to have been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services (QAVS) aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit 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 the groups receive the QAVS Award Crystal and a QAVS Certificate signed by Her Majesty the Queen from Her Majesty’s representative in the County, the Lord Lieutenant at a local ceremony. Two volunteers from the winning groups are invited to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in the summer of this year, along with other recipients of this award.
The band was formed over 30 years ago and is run entirely by volunteers who give over 11,000 hours a year to support young musicians who perform in the UK and overseas. The high standard of musicianship and performance excellence is truly remarkable and rates the band as one of the finest in the world.
This award is given to volunteer groups across the UK to recognise exceptional service within their communities. The QAVS is considered as the MBE for voluntary groups.
Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, Lord Lieutenant of Essex said:
“The announcement of three winners of the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services, the highest national award for voluntary groups, across Essex is a wonderful tribute to the outstanding work of the voluntary sector. The number of awards won across Essex speaks volumes for the excellence of volunteering in our county and the increasing importance of the work of volunteers for community wellbeing. I am delighted that three extremely deserving groups, who are providing a wide range of services to our communities have been honoured by Her Majesty the Queen. I look forward to presenting the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services to each of the groups over the coming months, and to celebrate their success with their volunteers and many who receive their excellent service.
I would also like to encourage all who know of outstanding voluntary groups doing outstanding work in their communities to go on to the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services website and nominate those groups for this wonderful award”.
Johnpaul Wyndham, Musical Director of the Brentwood Youth Band, said:
“Our team of volunteers commit hours upon hours of support, in a marvellous variation of forms, to make the band a possibility for our beneficiaries. They all do so with no reward and often with little recognition. To receive a QAVS award, especially in the Platinum Jubilee year, reminds us of the invaluable contribution made by our wonderful team, their dedicated service and what is possible when empowered by the unrelenting energy of volunteers”.
