Five Hertfordshire Voluntary Groups Awarded QAVS

Congratulations to the five local community and voluntary groups who were awarded one of the highest honours for the sector, a Queens Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS), on the 2nd of June.
Hertfordshire Community Foundation are very proud to have played a part in four of these outstanding groups success by being able to have provided them with grants in previous years. This support was only possible thanks to our donors and fundholders.

The awards were made to:

• Hertswatch which coordinates all the Neighbourhood Watches in the county. Its aim is to make the county a safe, secure place to live, work and play


• Mediation Hertfordshire offers mediation and training in conflict resolution for neighbourhood disputes, within families, the workplace and in schools.


• Samaritans of SW Herts which provides emotional support to anyone experiencing suicidal feelings, despair, distress, loneliness across the community including at HMP The Mount


• St Albans Musical Museum, Society, otherwise known as St Albans Organ Museum, aims to advance the public’s appreciation and knowledge of the art, science and technology relating to historical, mechanical musical instruments including rescuing, maintaining and playing redundant theatre and cinema organs.


• Waterways Experience operates three boats to enable people to enjoy a canal cruise regardless of their physical and mental fitness or social circumstances


The QAVS was created in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation and has been awarded every year on 2 June since 2003. Any group doing voluntary work that provides a social, economic or environmental service to the local community can be nominated. 31 well deserved groups in Hertfordshire have previously been awarded the QAVS.

Guidance on criteria for nomination, how to nominate and the application form are available at https://qavs.direct.gov.uk.

There is also information on the county lieutenancy website