The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest UK award for volunteer groups, has been awarded to The Fed.
The Fed, the largest regional Jewish social care organisation in the UK, has been awarded The Queen’s Award, the MBE for voluntary services.
The award recognises the outstanding work carried out by people in their own community, and the winners are considered for selection by a local assessment panel, which then forwards those selected to the National Award Committee. Eventually, the Cabinet Office sends a final list to the Queen for her approval.
The official award was presented by Edith Conn, the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, at a party held in honour of Volunteers’ Week, the annual celebration across the UK. Mrs Conn was especially delighted to have the opportunity to meet Holocaust survivor, Marianne Philipps, who has the distinction of being the group’s most senior volunteer.
Speaking at the gathering, where 150 volunteers mingled on the lawn and terrace of the Heathlands Village, Mrs Conn said: “If The Fed didn’t exist then the community would be a poorer place and many people would live in isolation…it is a veritable lifeline. The volunteers are not the stitches that hold the patches together, but the patchwork itself.”
The award follows a visit to Buckingham Palace by Juliette Pearce, The Fed’s Time For You manager, and Diane Richardson, the charity’s South Manchester services manager, where the duo represented The Fed at one of the Queen’s annual garden parties.
Diane Richardson commented: “We don’t view this as The Fed’s award. This belongs to all the wonderful people who volunteer their time…to help other people and make such a significant difference to the lives of so many in Greater Manchester.”