Forth Valley Welcome is one of more than 200 groups that has received a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
A small charity which offers vital support for refugees has received the highest award a voluntary group can receive.
Forth Valley Welcome, a group of volunteers based in Stirling and Clackmannanshire, has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
The charity supports refugees who have been resettled locally by helping them in a number of ways including placing home visitors with families, supporting them to learn English, organising event for them to get together and supplying them with material needs like furniture, clothes and kitchen equipment.
Forth Valley Welcome is one of 230 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations has increased year on year since the awards were introduced in 2002, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to make life better for those around them.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2 June, the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are diverse. They include volunteer groups from across the UK, such as a community shop in Cornwall, an environmental group in Swansea and a thriving community arts centre in County Down.
Representatives of Forth Valley Welcome will receive the award from Alan Simpson, Lord Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk later this summer. Furthermore, two volunteers from the charity will attend a garden party at Holyroodhouse in July 2021.
Save Maharaj, chair of Forth Valley Welcome, said: “We were very surprised and absolutely delighted to receive this prestigious award. Our organisation started because of a small group of volunteers who were passionate about supporting and welcoming refugees into our area. We currently have around 75 volunteers and it’s really hard to put into words the incredible contribution they make to the organisation and their commitment to the families we support. We literally could not do it without them and it great to see them recognised in this way.”
