A record nineteen charitable organisations across the West Midlands are the recipients of the highly prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) this year.
All nineteen charities have been recognised for their exceptional service within their communities and rely on volunteers to deliver their outstanding contribution.
This year’s recipients cover the entire region coming from Dudley (4), Smethwick (1), Stourbridge (1), Wolverhampton (2), Walsall (1), Wednesbury (1), Warley (1), Birmingham (5), Solihull (1), Kenilworth (1) and Coventry (1).
Below details some of the amazing actions that each charity has done, from volunteers in Handsworth Helping Hands get down clearing drains, digging people’s front gardens and clearing up waste dumped in the street – to Guru Nanak Gurdwara preparing over 10,000 meals each week for anyone walking through its doors. Some charities are providing lifelines such Ladywood Community Project’s food parcels and Fuel Proverty Grants, Soho Road Business Improvement district’s help for the homeless and Solihull Talking Books that records tapes for the blind to make them feel part of their community and check in on people to see if they are ok.
The Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, John Crabtree OBE said; “Through the activities of the West Midlands Lieutenancy, I come across many people providing amazing support and giving their time to help others. It is heart-warming to see so many of these organisations gain the recognition they deserve. I am so grateful for everything they do and am thrilled that we can praise their efforts through the QAVS Honour.
“As well as thanking these special charities, of course we are all aware how West Midlands’ people are making such an effort to support each other during the Covid-19 pandemic. I do hope we will receive nominations this year so that in 2021, we will be recognising the many heroic voluntary organisations”
Acacia Family Support – Sutton Coldfield
Each year Acacia Family Support helps over 500 families affected by perinatal mental health issues that include pre and postnatal depression and anxiety.
Their programme offers much needed caring to address the little-appreciated problem of postnatal depression amongst fathers, as well as mums.
Many of the volunteers for the service have previously received support from the organisation and have gone on to the rigorous training programme to provide the highest level of service with compassion that is tailored to the individual’s needs.
People self-refer themselves or are referred to the charity.
Birch Thompson Memorial Fund (BTMF) “Gelliwig” – Wolverhampton
From its “Gelliwig” centre in Wolverhampton, the Birch Thompson Memorial Fund helps many young people from the multicultural and deprived areas of Wolverhampton with mentoring and an opportunity for small breaks away from home in Wales.
The charity has taken asylum-seekers, refugees, people with learning difficulties and others for mini holidays to experience nature, the countryside and see the sea.
The breaks, educational and leisure activities are carried out by a dedicated team of volunteers, who share the vision of the charity’s founder, Keith Berry MBE, who has been a driving force for the last 38 years.
Black Country Touring – Smethwick, Sandwell
Black Country Touring brings the best theatre, dance and cinema to the heart of communities in the Black Country and tells local stories through unique, creative productions.
Last year 217 performances took place across 33 venues, some with unusual settings. For example, one production set up a makeshift “sea side” in a car park with caravans and served up Fish and Chips to the audience.
One of their recent productions, “Back In Ten”, involved local people who work in and manage cafes, hairdressers, South Asian fabric and Caribbean food shops, who had no previous encounters with the arts.
6,446 people attended their productions across the year and 48% only had to travel within 2 miles to get there.
The charity has developed a reputation within the arts world for its high standards and success which has led to them attracting new talent and securing some new and exciting plays.
They work with schools to create young productions, where the children select their own stories and they cater for deaf and disabled audiences. They also show some productions to bring local history to life at the Black Country Museum.
The volunteers, who cover all roles including selling refreshments, feel the organisation reflects its community and offers social contact for many people who would be lonely.
Coventry Children’s Boot Fund – Coventry
As the name suggests, Coventry Children’s Boot Fund provides around 500 pairs of shoes in the Coventry area to new immigrants, refugees, children of evicted families who have lost their possessions and very poor families barely surviving on benefits.
A coordinated team of 8 volunteers, many who have been volunteering for over 15 years, accept recommendations from schools, validate the need and send a voucher so the children can get a proper fitted pair of shoes from a specialist retailer.
The charity fund-raises and takes pride in making a real difference to children.
One very successful Coventry businessman considered that his shoes provided by the charity, that were better than his parents could ever afford, are what made him walk to school and led to his success.
Discover U – Stourbridge
Discover U, based in Wollaston, provides skills to people with learning and physical difficulties to help them into employment and has a cafe that is a social amenity for local residents that is based in a former bakery building in the High Street.
The Tea Room serves up wonderful cakes and the main workshops on-site run a number of craft and skill sessions, including painting, woodwork, sewing and outdoor skill in the garden.
The craftwork helps fund-raising at local bazaars and the activities offer stimulation, support and skills, as well as social contact for people who could feel isolated and forgotten.
Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust
Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust maintains and supports an internationally important heritage site, ensuring the canals and limestone mines remain at the heart of the community.
In 1963, around 700 volunteers manually dug over a year to restore the canal and preserve the heritage canal boats to save the site.
Today the Trust is active in so many areas from building and maintaining the canal boats, guiding school visits, hosting the Chit chat Club that aims to tackle loneliness, maintaining the canal and its tow paths and creating and maintaining a sensory garden for vulnerable adults.
97,000 visitors attended the site in 2018, including many young people from local schools who benefitted from the museum teaching living history.
The Trust gives so much to its local community and has generated a sense of pride in the citizens of Dudley for all they have achieved.
Dudley Voices For Choice
Dudley Voices For Choice gives people with learning disabilities and autism a voice on how life experiences can be improved.
They are smashing down perceptions, building an army of strength to make communities safe and facilities accessible
The organisation uses the experiences of these people to improve the world, advising councils, medical staff and many other organisations on how they can best make changes to improve the quality of life for many disadvantaged people.
They have encouraged the council to review some pedestrian crossings to allow more time for people to cross and the volunteers act in simulated situations in hospitals across the UK to train nurses and doctors on how best to communicate with patients.
684 people were supported by the charity last year.
The charity embraces and places value on everyone. In a rushed world, they ate there to listen, let people have a voice and when they suggest relevant, practical ways of improving things, they give them confidence, the platform and opportunity to see real, positive changes.
There is also a cafe which serves amazing coffee and cakes that provides a warm, inviting place and social contact for people who might be isolated.
www.dudleyvoicesforchoice.org.uk
EnV Coventry CIC- Coventry Ambassador Programme
EnV provides a range of activities and trains and coordinates volunteers to help with a range of events that benefit the community.
For example, Env has managed events for Coventry City Council, including Coventry Sports Week. Other events supported include International Tag Rugby, Youth Festival, The Davis Cup at the Ricoh Centre, school games and the Coventry Festival of Motoring.
They have 350 volunteers but can call up to 500 if needed. All these volunteers are professionally trained, are provided with smart uniforms and help run all aspects of events saving the community significant amounts of money, enabling events that would have otherwise been viable to take place and giving the volunteers involved a sense of worth and pride in what they do.
EnV also runs the Coventry Ambassador and Coventry Young Ambassador programmes that provide leadership and other skills. It is a great example of involving people who gain from the volunteering network and creates a community that is actively improving what Coventry can offer to its people and manage to stage such professional events, which will all stand in good stead for its year of Capital of Culture.
Fox Hollies Community Association – Acocks Green, Birmingham
Fox Hollies Community Association has run its special community centre that is at the heart of the community providing vital support for local people for over 30 years.
Today over 80 volunteers manage and coordinate a full range of activity. There is a pre-school facility that offers affordable childcare and a holiday school club that is a huge support for working parents who would otherwise struggle to pay for care.
There are activities for the elderly and a Lunch Club that brings often isolated people together.
A Youth Work Steering Group helps 11-18 year old young people to get off the streets and creates opportunities for them. The Environmental Centre looks at the well-being of the wider aspects of the area too.
Around 1,200 people use the centre each week and the volunteers receive training and relevant qualifications in child care, first aid, food hygiene and dementia.
The centre provides a true sense of community and has had a tremendous positive impact on the lives of so many people in its community.
Guru Nanak Gurdwara – Smethwick, Sandwell
Established in 1958, Guru Nanak Gurdwara (GNG) is the largest and oldest Gudwara in Europe and the flagship of Gurdwara in the UK.
This Sikh place of worship has been recognised by Historic England as one of the top 10 places of faith and belief.
As a prominent faith organisation, which is dedicated to promoting and practicing selfless service and where the community is at the heart of the Sikh faith, GNG contributes significantly to the region’s spiritual well-being and social values of the locally diverse community.
The 200 plus volunteers, aged from 12-85, help in a variety of ways.
10,000 meals are prepared each week for any one of any faith who walks through its doors. This can rise to 25,000 if there is a special celebration.
They give back to the community in many ways. For example, the Smethwick Youth and Community Centre uses the playground for its nursery programme, funds raised meant a 10 ft bronze statue of a Sikh soldier could be erected to commemorate the Sikh contribution to the war effort one hundred years after WW1 ended. During the “Beast From The East” snowstorm in 2018, volunteers ferried NHS staff to work and they have donated food and provisions across the world to help flood victims, refugees and other disasters.
They also welcome around 250 groups visiting the place of worship and provide tours.
Handsworth Helping Hands – Birmingham
A totally volunteer group that really gets its hands dirty to clean up and make Handswoth clean, tidy and a great place to live is just part of the wonderful work Handsworth Helping Hands does.
Run by seven dedicated committee members and backed by potentially 500 volunteers on its Facebook site, the charity gets involved in waste recycling, clearing up waste dumped on the streets, will dig up people’s front gardens to make them look good if the owners are unable and need help, they put their hands down drains to clear them and knock on doors to check if people are ok and not lonely.
They provide role models of what a good neighbour does which motivates others and provides good examples for new, often immigrant people coming into the area.
The sense of community support extends to organised Kids Litter Picking Days and the “Can Do” approach to tackling the nastiest of jobs that make such a difference to the community.
www.facebook.com/groups/334430036631024
Ladywood Community Project – Birmingham
Since 1986, the Ladywood Community Project has listened to the needs of its local community and set about offering real benefits that make a big difference to the quality of the lives of local people providing a range of integrated services to relieve poverty and social isolation.
For many it is the first port of call in a crisis and across 2018/2019 3,672 people were supported with advice and benefits, and a third of these were children.
From the Ladywood Community and Health Centre 20 volunteers help run the “Wrigglers” play “n” stay group that helps mums get together as well as well as children play; there are drop-in sessions and a team advising disadvantaged people on administration and support with forms and bills.
94 adults and 111 children were helped by the Fuel Poverty Grants last year and over 80 families received Holiday Hungry Food Parcels.
Furniture is provided when needed and the Project has successfully linked with other charities such as Suited For Success (a QAVS winner in 2019) to offer the widest value to its community when required.
Over 200 people, mainly children, parents and elderly enjoyed days out as part of the Affordable Holiday Outings Activity and there is the annual Christmas Party.
All this brings a sense of community and worth to a deprived area of Birmingham
Martineau Gardens – Birmingham
If you are looking for a garden that will provide all that nature can restore and make you feel better, look no further than just on the outer edge of Birmingham city centre for there is a very magical garden, Martineau Gardens that heals many souls.
Martineau Garden is a community garden and charity with a focus on therapeutic horticulture.
It is a renowned garden of sanctuary that has been used as an NHS Midlands for a model for improving mental health , has gained wide spread support , including that of Jo Malone and accredited with the Green Flag in 2019, amongst its many accolades .
It has been voted as a Top 10 Community Garden and its 80 plus volunteers gain as much from their dedicated care of the garden as the many schools and visitors each year that seek the magic the garden emanates.
There are initiatives including the mass planting on world mental health day.
It’s a beacon of excellence that is shared for its local community and beyond.
Soho Road Business Improvement District CIC – Birmingham
Imagine a fairy god mother has landed in Soho on the outskirts of Birmingham city centre, then imagine a whole host of fairy Godmothers and the amazing magical things they can do and you may realise the incredible transformation that the volunteers of Soho Bid do to make a difference to their community.
These volunteers have cleared away tons of rubbish to create a garden of the High Street. They have paid for homeless people to take taxis to where they can stay, they have helped 106 people into employment and more, finding work placements and paid for training.
They have Action evenings to help people and look out for lonely people. They have embraced all cultures and really promoted what they offer. This includes making Soho a destination and centre for organising and providing for Asian Weddings.
300 children have helped plant 11,000 plants and Christmas is celebrated with wonderful lights and trees.
This all makes Soho an enriched community and one that has really mobilised its community to raise its standing and sense of belonging.
Solihull Borough Talking Newspapers
Imagine if you are blind, disabled, suffering from Parkinson’s Disease and other ailments how isolating this could be and how you would not feel part of the community and what is going on.
If you live in Solihull your world can be so different as a result of a team of dedicated, long-serving volunteers that scour the local news, what’s going on and advice and then spend time in the library studio to record tapes so local people are in touch with what is going on and feel part of their community.
Not only do the volunteers deliver these tapes, but they check on the recipients and help them if they need to get support from the Local Authority and other charities.
It is a worthy cause that would not happen without the support from a team of outstanding people that appreciate the value they offer and also have made life long contacts amongst themselves and the people they visit and call on.
St John’s Church Preservation Group – Dudley
Faced with losing an iconic landmark in Dudley and part of the history, the community gathered together to persuade the church authorities and England Heritage that St John’s Church had to be restored and preserved as an historic building and grounds and recreated as a community resource.
Thanks to a team of volunteers with determination, who coordinated a feedback survey with around 6,000 local people, they managed to keep the church and build on its historic presence in Dudley.
Today St John’s stands proudly as an emblem of community spirit in the Black Country and serves many purposes for its community.
There’s a Drop- in Cafe, well-attended jumble sales. The Church has set up a Nature Reserve in the grounds and they provide local genealogy listings, graveyard stories and people have a sense of pride that the building still acts as a hub for the community.
Stratton Street Methodist Church Community Centre (SSMCC) – Wolverhampton
From what sounds quite a formal name, some of the most astounding acts of human kindness are made.
This charity tackles issues of isolation, loneliness, boredom, anti-social behaviour, unemployment, education, nutrition, physical and mental well-being in ways that are so heart-warming in their local community.
The residents paint a picture of their community as being “concrete and bins”. So to counter this they have galvanized together to make this deprived area of Wolverhampton a real gem of a community.
Food is provided through the Surf “n” Snack shop, Breakfast Club, Lunch and Holiday Clubs.
Food parcels are delivered to those in need.
There is Stay “n” Play and Youth Action clubs, Junior football, loads of dance classes, including Dance Yourself Happy.
They also have a clothes and furniture scheme to help people in need.
Top Church Training: The Connect Project – Dudley
Imagine being in Dudley, under 35 years of age and with little prospect of a job even before the effects of Covid-19.
It is the reality of many people for no fault of their own and often there is no place to turn.
But thankfully the volunteers for this project have helped over 600 people last year to find employment and their dignity.
They have achieved this from listening and providing training and practical skills. They have established opportunities for work placements, an allotment and very valued one-to-one mentoring sessions.
Their help stretches across Dudley, Halesowen and the Black Country and has made such a long-term difference to people in the area.
Walsall Link Line
Dementia is a terrible condition affecting so many people and not just the sufferers but their families.
In Walsall, Walsall Link Line is offering some fantastic support to sufferers, their families in the way of care and therapy.
The volunteers are described as the “White Knights” of society, who have helped over 500 people, including 100 referrals from the medical profession and other channels last year.
They are beacons of self-help locally, providing therapy, a dementia cafe, befriending visits, weekly calls, carers support and so much more.
Dementia can be such a lonely place for people and their carers, and when they are in institutions it is so comforting to think there is a team of spirited people, giving up their time freely to help those in need beyond the normal support on offer.
Well done to each and every person involved in the incredible work and support that is coming out of the West Midlands at this extraordinarily hard time
