At a time when good news has been in short supply, we are delighted to announce that Halton Community Association (HCA) has been recognised with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in what should have been the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

The main list has been delayed in order to recognise those involved in the Covid-19 response, but the community awards have been made on time.

The group of volunteers based in The Centre @ Halton have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. The Centre is run by Halton Community Association and 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 and is the community equivalent of an M.B.E. 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.

The Chairman of HCA, Brian Jefferson, said “The community in Halton should be rightly proud of their achievement in gaining this award. This follows twenty years of effort by the volunteers to re-build and renew the community centre in the village, which serves the wider community in the Lancaster District as well as residents. We very much look forward to re-opening when the current social restrictions are lifted and welcoming people to our wonderful Centre.”

Representatives of Halton Community Association will receive the award from Lord Shuttleworth, Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire later this summer when circumstances permit. Subsequently, two volunteers from HCA will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2021, along with other recipients of this year’s Award. Understandably, it will be difficult to choose who will represent HCA given the large number of volunteers who support the Centre.

For anyone who wants to know more about HCA, please look online at www.haltoncentre.org or email info@haltoncentre.org or call mobile no. 07876710565.