Latest News | 10 November 2020
Children First Derby receives Queen's Award
A team of volunteers at Children First Derby has received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service at an official ceremony held prior to the current lockdown.
Described as the MBE for charities and regarded as the highest award a voluntary group can receive, it was recently presented to a small group of representatives from the charity by the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Elizabeth Fothergill CBE.
Established in 1974, Children First Derby helps vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people and their families.
It provides three bespoke services: a family support service, a mentoring service for young people and a supervised contact service for looked after children.
Operating from its premises in Leopold Street, the charity is run by a small, dedicated team of staff and more than 60 family support, mentoring and fund-raising volunteers.
Together, they provide much-needed support to around 400 vulnerable children and young people every year, both in the Derby area and beyond.
Sir Stephen Moss, the charity’s patron, said: “I nominated the charity’s volunteers for this award due to the fantastic support they provide to children and their families in Derby.
“I’m delighted the volunteers have been recognised for all their hard work and the amazing contributions they have made towards the wellbeing of their local community. It is a great achievement and richly deserved.”
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the official ceremony was a small, socially distanced affair, adhering to the latest Government guidelines throughout.
The charity’s chairman, Fred Jacques, said: “We would like to thank the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Elizabeth Fothergill, for presenting our charity with this prestigious award. This is a fantastic boost to everyone’s morale during this time of difficulty and uncertainty.
“We are looking forward to having another, much larger ceremony and inviting many more of the charity’s volunteers to celebrate this achievement as soon as government guidelines allow.”
