Day centre presented with Queen's Award in Milton Keynes town

Volunteers at Newport Pagnell's Brooklands Day Centre are celebrating winning the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service

The QAVS is recognised as the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary groups and The Brooklands Centre was nominated for the award by Cllr Paul Day, the Mayor of Newport Pagnell.

It learned of its success last year but the award could not be presented until now.

An official ceremony was held under Covid-19 restrictions and the presentation was made by Countess Elizabeth Howe DL, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire.

The ceremony was held on Brooklands Centre's upper terrace overlooking the town's Ousebank Gardens and Countess Howe presented the award to Chair of Trustees, Catherine Hall.

She described the Centre as "a hidden gem" and an exceptional volunteer-led facility providing inspirational support and epitomising the very best of service through its loyal and dedicated volunteers.

The following day, volunteers who couldn't attend the official presentation enjoyed a social get-together at the centre, complete with a celebration cake. The event included Alison Philips, the Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, and the member of the Buckinghamshire QAVS panel who had assessed them for the award. She congratulated the volunteers and invited them to collect their special QAVS pin badges, given in recognition of their continued hard work.

Catherine Hall said: “It was such a thrill for our volunteers to receive the award, finally! We have such a dedicated team of around 100 Volunteers and we're so grateful to them for making the work of the centre possible. We simply couldn’t provide our services to the local community without them. Thank you to each and every one.”

Brooklands Centre is due to re-open on July 19 and volunteers have been attending refresher training days to make sure that everything will be operating in a safe environment.