Marks shares this great news from Age UK Isle of Wight
A voluntary group, the Age UK Good Neighbour Scheme, which works in the community to provide practical support and reassurance for older people with no-one to turn to has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The Good Neighbour Scheme is a voluntary scheme where local residents, in local Island areas, assist local older neighbours in times of genuine need when they have no family or friends to turn to for help.
The scheme now has over 600 local volunteers in every Island location supporting over 650 older people and provided 50,000 hours of valuable support during the last year to older Islanders who could not, in most cases, obtain help anywhere else.
The Good Neighbour Scheme
The Good Neighbour Scheme provides a wide range of volunteer support which includes things such as befriending, transport for shopping and medical appointments, help with small tasks in the home, letter writing or help with paperwork.
GNS operates an innovative cutting edge volunteering model which has attracted attention both nationally and internationally. The scheme has recently received official visits from health care professionals from Denmark, Finland and Belgium interested in replicating the GNS model abroad.
In addition to the Queens Award GNS has attracted 3 other national awards and 4 local awards for its work:
- 2013 – National Volunteer Coordinator of the Year Award (National Charity Foundation).
- 2013 – IOWCP Community Action Awards (Winner in Older People Category & Runner up Overall).
- 2013 – National Mentoring & Befriending Foundation Quality Mark.
- 2014 – National Third Sector Awards – Volunteer Manager of the Year.
- 2015 – IOWCP Community Action Awards (Winner in Older People Category & Runner up Overall).
Royal garden party
Age UKIW Chief Executive Officer, Jo Dare, and Good Neighbour Scheme Manager, Mark O’Sullivan, attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace on 19th May 2016 where they met the Queen and other winners of this year’s award.
The Age UKIW Good Neighbour Scheme 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 highest award for local volunteer groups
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 Age UKIW Good Neighbour Scheme will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight later this summer.
Inspirational voluntary groups
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.”
Fantastic achievements
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.”
Manager of the Age UKIW Good Neighbour Scheme Mark O’Sullivan said,
“This is a truly incredible honour for the Good Neighbour Scheme. Our volunteers should be rightly proud of this achievement as it would not have been possible without their tireless efforts in our community. Our scheme proves that volunteers working together in the community can make a massive difference.
“If anyone would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities at Age UKIW please contact me at Age UKIW on 01983 525282”.
