Sandwell Visually Impaired was proud to be nominated for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS). This was a fantastic achievement for our organisation and a great acknowledgement of the hard work of our volunteers and staff.
The Awards are the organisational equivalent of the MBE or OBE. We were nominated by Sandwell Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) as ‘one of the best volunteer-run organisations in Sandwell’.
Although we were unsuccessful on this occasion, we received some very positive words of encouragement from the Awards body. We were also invited, along with other nominated organisations, to attend an afternoon tea at Lightwoods Park, organised by the Lord Lieutenant’s Office. There, we were praised for our hard work and reminded that to be nominated in the first place is a great achievement.
In their feedback, the Queen’s Award representative wrote: “The work your group does for the community was very much admired by the Independent Assessment Committee… On behalf of The QAVS Team, please convey to your volunteers and other staff our warm appreciation of the excellent work they do and the enormous benefit it represents to the local community. The Award is the highest accolade given to local volunteer groups and your nomination represents a tremendous achievement for your organisation. Everyone involved, and particularly your volunteers, should feel immensely proud of this and we wish you all the best for the future.”
We offer our heartfelt congratulations to Sandwell’s worthy winners, The Yemeni Community Association, who do such great work in the borough. It was an honour to share our nominees’ afternoon tea with fantastic organisations like BUDS (Better Understanding of Dementia for Sandwell), Brushstrokes and Parents of Children with Disabilities.
Trustees and staff of SVI thank our hard working and committed volunteers who make it possible for us to do the great work we do – we definitely couldn’t do it without you.
