Mayor of Reading congratulates four Reading organisations on receiving the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service

THE Mayor of Reading has offered his congratulations after Buckingham Palace announced last week that four voluntary organisations in Reading are recipients of this year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The recipients include one of the current Mayoral charities, nominated by Reading Mayor Cllr David Stevens himself, as well as a past Mayoral charity.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen's Coronation.  It is awarded annually to outstanding groups of volunteers whose initiative and impact are truly exceptional. It is the MBE for volunteer groups and is awarded for life.

The four Reading organisations and their citations are:

No5 Young People: for providing confidential listening and counselling to support children, young people and those around them (Mayoral Charity 2020-22)

Reading Family Aid Group: a group that puts a smile on the faces of disadvantaged children in the Reading area (Mayoral Charity 2019-2020)

Reading Rowing Club: a community club that promotes rowing as an enjoyable sport for all, offering valuable personal and community benefits

Smart Works Reading:  a voluntary group that seeks to tackle poverty by helping disadvantaged women into employment with tailored interview coaching 

Mayor of Reading, Councillor David Stevens, said:

“Only 241 awards were made nationally and it is fantastic that four of these will go to organisations in Reading. It is a reflection of the outstanding work that these groups have performed during the extraordinarily challenging year of Covid-19.

“Each of the four groups have made their contribution to the town in very different ways, but all exemplify the outstanding spirit of people doing their very best in such difficult circumstances.

“Every resident of Reading can be extremely proud of them all.  Once again, it shows that Reading is a great place to live and work.”