The following email has been received from the Riverside Arts Centre in Thames Street. We are delighted to reproduce it here and wholeheartedly endorse the award:
We, as a group of volunteers based in Sunbury, have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The RAC is committed to the furtherance of Art and Culture in Sunbury, Spelthorne, and beyond. However, we could not do this without the time and dedication of volunteers past and present. Everyone from the Management Committee to those of our users who dedicate their time make our centre the community hub that it is today - catering for over a 100 event nights a year & a large number of clubs, social gatherings, and classes
Riverside Arts Centre is one of 230 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on year, 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 2nd June, the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are always wonderfully diverse.
Representatives of Riverside will receive the award from Michael More-Molyneux, Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, later this summer. Furthermore, two volunteers will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2021, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
Riverside Arts Centre Chairman, James Ford-Bannister says:
“I speak on behalf of everyone at the RAC when I say that this is a great honour for all of us. When we were unexpectedly nominated, we were proud just to be considered but to be awarded the QAVS is an achievement that further validates all the hard hours everyone gladly puts in to give back to our local community. However, I know that our volunteers won't relax after this and will continue with the labour of love that is providing arts & culture in Lower Sunbury."
