Leominster in Bloom receives the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
A group of volunteers based in Leominster have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The group works with all sectors of the community in and around the town, bringing together young and old to make the town look beautiful. Creative groups, residents of nursing homes, schools, youth groups as well as individuals all contribute to the annual displays.
Representatives from Leominster in Bloom attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May, along with other recipients of this year’s Award .
Leominster in Bloom is one of 281 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations and awards 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. Winners are announced each year on 2 June – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse. They include volunteers helping people overcome mental health problems through sport, volunteers using caravans as mobile cafe/information centres in geographically remote locations and another group mentoring children who have a parent in prison.
Representatives of Leominster in Bloom will receive the award from Lady Darnley, Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire later this summer.
Geoffrey Crofts, the Chairman stated that; ‘The award is a wonderful achievement for the whole town, and anyone who has ever contributed in any way to the work of Leominster in Bloom should feel very proud. The committee is the driving force behind the project each year, but it simply would not work without the hours of dedication put in by so many other volunteers in the town. This is truly a ‘Team Leominster’ effort and should be enjoyed by each and every one of us.’