Two of the Bailiwick’s leading voluntary organisations have been recognised with a national award from Her Majesty The Queen.

The Guernsey Branch of the RNLI and Creative Learning in Prison (CLIP) are to receive The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. 

The award is the equivalent of an MBE for volunteer group and is the highest award available to local volunteer groups.

It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and recognises outstanding work by voluntary organisations to benefit their local communities. 

The Lieutenant-Governor, Vice Admiral Sir Ian Corder, has welcomed the news: ‘

I’m really delighted that two of our best charitable organisations feature in this year’s list of recipients of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. They are both outstanding examples of the life-changing impact of volunteering.’

Since it was established in 1803, the Guernsey branch of the RNLI has been awarded 25 Medals of the Institution for gallantry in saving life from shipwreck – two Gold, eight Silver and 15 Bronze

Jim Le Pelley, Chairman of the Lifeboat Management Group at St Peter Port, says the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service is a prestigious accolade for the service:

“This is a great honour for the St Peter Port Lifeboat Station which recognises that the whole of the operation of the station is run by volunteers. All the crew of the lifeboat have shown exceptional extra dedication throughout the period of the pandemic. But the award recognises not just their service but that of all the volunteers of the station including committee members, fundraisers and supporters, past and present, who have all contributed to saving lives at sea.”

CLIP provides education and learning opportunities for prisoners to aid rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the community. 

"The idea was how can a third party work alongside the prison and its senior management team to help them achieve their goal of rehabilitating prisoners back into the community. What we are in the early states of doing is establishing relationships with sectors such as the hospitality and building industries to see how we can work along side them and their need for staff going forward, so we can provide those educational opportunities within the prison, be it apprenticeships or health & safety education." - Iain Stokes, CLIP Chairman.

This year’s announcement takes to 30 the total number of voluntary groups in the Bailiwick to be accredited with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

This week is Volunteers Week, and Malcolm Woodhams from the Association of Guernsey Charities says the contribution made by volunteers to the future economic and emotional prosperity of the community is immeasurable: 

"We know there is an enormous benefit to the island in a resource perspective, but also financially, by people who are giving some of their time to help out the community, and that is in all sectors on the island. Maybe people working for a business can use their skills to help. All charities need treasurers, they need business support and they need strategy. So there are key areas where businesses can support the voluntary sector."

It's the start of Volunteers' Week... the annual event for the UK to acknowledge the difference made by the many people who volunteer their time to help their community. #TimeToSayThanks. #VolunteersWeek #LoveGuernsey @Govgg @GuernseyCF @lloydsbfci @VolunteerGsy @NCVOvolunteers pic.twitter.com/2Ui0aL4kDm

— Association of Guernsey Charities (@GuernseyCharity) June 1, 2021