Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service presented to Guisborough charity

Stewart, housing manager at Hinton Court retirement apartments, both of whom had first-hand knowledge of The Bridge’s work.

Praising The Bridge and its volunteers, the Lord Lieutenant said: “Following the death of Her Majesty, this could well be the last award of its kind. We do not yet know if the new King will instigate a similar award.” Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Graham Henderson, who led the team that subjected The Bridge to rigorous inspection and appraisal commented: “As a Guisborough resident, it was an honour to be put in charge of assessing such a wonderful organisation.”

AGuisborough community charity, The Bridge, has been presented with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service by Mrs Johanna Ropner, the Lord Lieutenant for North Yorkshire. The presentation was made to Roland Miller, the chairman of the trustees of the Bridge, in St Nicholas Parish Hall.

The Bridge is a group of over 80 volunteers from the several Christian churches in Guisborough who have been runningcommunity projects in the town since 1998. These include a food bank, school holiday clubs, a second-hand school uniform service, parent support groups, coffee mornings serving homemade food, a Christmas Day meal for over 80 people and a community luncheon club for the elderly and infirm. During lockdown, volunteers delivered prescriptions and shopped for groceries for those shielding or self-isolating.

Those helped by The Bridge frequently commend the volunteers for having sufficient time to talk to them and understand their needs. Others mention how volunteers show empathy and focus on them as individuals. Proof that the volunteers are special is that since it began the Association’s work has expanded considerably, because of its success in supporting local inhabitants. They are even nowabout to start up a Community Shop.

Rotarian Colin Monson, who lives opposite the Methodist Hall in Westgate, where The Bridge is based, could see during the Covid pandemic the wonderful work that The Bridge was doing and thought this needs to be recognised. A Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, equivalent to an MBE, seemed the ideal way. He approached the then Rotary President, Vivien Holmberg, and with the agreement of the Rotary Club, they sent in an application. It required two independent letters of support. These came from Brian Gleeson, news correspondent of the Darlington and Stockton Times, and Catriona

The Bridge’s Chair of Trustees, Roland Miller, accepting the award on behalf of The Bridge,said: “We had the challenge of adapting to the Covid pandemic but now we are faced with the new challenge of helping our local community through a period of severe economic hardship. I am delighted that our dedicated, hardworking staff and volunteers have been recognised for all that they do and I am certain that they will respond brilliantly to whatever confronts them. Also, I wouldlike to thank Guisborough and Great Ayton Rotary Club for nominating us and thus making this award possible.”

The event concluded with the Lord Lieutenant presenting the staff and volunteers with their own individual Queen’s Award badge in recognition of their personal effort in helping the people of Guisborough and the surrounding district.