A group of volunteers from the World Mission Society Church of God (UK ZION) have been honoured with the Queen’s Award, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
Their work comprises of several projects, such as care-home visiting, clean-up campaigns, graffiti removal, youth festivals, disaster relief and blood drives.
Since 2009, they have visited care homes in Greater Manchester, bringing overwhelming happiness to elderly citizens, visitors and carers. They have also carried out clean-up campaigns, giving the local communities the benefit of a cleaner environment. The group have been issued with certificates of appreciation from their local MP Kate Green and all 10 borough councils of Greater Manchester.
Michael King and Kim Joo-cheol from the World Mission Society Church of God attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace on 24th of May, 2016 where they met the Queen and other winners of this year’s award.
The group is one of 193 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of awards given to groups this year is slightly higher than last year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to tackle community challenges.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work in their communities. The awards were created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and winners are announced each year on 2 June – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.
Award winners this year range from a War Memorial Community Trust, providing social facilities for the benefit of the community in Clwyd, Wales, to a club enhancing the community by developing individuals through athletics, in Ayrshire and Arran, Scotland.
The group will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester later this summer.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Committee Chair, former broadcast journalist Sir Martyn Lewis said:
“I warmly congratulate all of the inspirational voluntary groups who have been rewarded for their community work with a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The judging panel for this year’s awards were struck by the quality and breadth of all the successful groups.
The thousands of volunteers who give up spare time to help others in their community and to help solve problems demonstrate the very best of democracy in action.”
Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson, said:
“I would like to congratulate all groups who received this year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, in recognition of their fantastic achievements. The huge amount of work and commitment these organisations put into their local communities is surpassed only by the passion and motivation of the individuals who volunteer. I hope these groups continue to inspire others to get involved and make a positive impact so that we can continue to build a more compassionate society.”
