Honoured with The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service

Every day, millions of people across the UK are making a difference by volunteering.

Each year, outstanding examples of this work are celebrated through The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS). Created in 2002 for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, QAVS awards have been shining a light on the fantastic work of voluntary groups for many years.

Equivalent to an MBE, QAVS are the highest awards given to local voluntary groups in the UK, and they are awarded for life.

We're thrilled to have an entirely volunteer-based team at the shop. Everyone here is dedicated to creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere where people come first.

You can imagine how excited we were to be nominated - local assessors researched us and visited the groups before writing a report on our suitability.

The local assessment panel decided to put us forward to the National Assessment Committee who included us on a shortlist for approval by the Queen.

News of our award was announced at our Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June 2022 and the award certificate and crystal were presented by Jo Ropner, the Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire in November 2022.

If this has inspired you to think about volunteering yourself, then click the button above to find out how to get involved.