SSAFA Lanarkshire receives Queen's Award

02 June 2020

SSAFA Lanarkshire, has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. Over the last ten years SSAFA Lanarkshire’s volunteers have secured over £2.2 million in grants from service funds and charities and in so doing helped over 1,700 individuals and their families.

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.

Representatives of SSAFA Lanarkshire will receive the award from Lady Haughey CBE, Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire later this summer and two SSAFA volunteers invited to attend a garden party at Holyrood House in July 2021.

Receiving news of the Award, the Chairman of SSAFA Lanarkshire, David McAllister MBE (who has served 18 years as the SSAFA Lanarkshire Branch Chairman) said "I am really thrilled at this great achievement, recognising the amazing work done by my team of true Volunteers. It is also a wonderful honour for Lanarkshire to be regarded in such a manner."

I am absolutely delighted that this group’s work has been recognised in this way; with no paid staff this small group of committed and well trained volunteers work with exceptional energy, enthusiasm compassion and professionalism and in so doing make a real positive difference to the quality of life of individuals and families who contact the group for assistance. I very much hope that we will see excellent groups from Lanarkshire nominated for the Award in the future.

- Lady Haughey, Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire