Enable Deveronside, a group of volunteers based in Banff, have been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.

 

Enable Deveronside was established in 1980.  Since then, the small group of dedicated volunteers have successfully provided a social support network for adults with special needs.  Their weekly meetings, held in the Fife Lodge Hotel in Banff, attract people from a wide geographical area and provide a setting where people with a wide range of needs can meet and enjoy a social environment.  The varied social programme of entertainment and activities is supported by a number of local entertainers.

 

Enable Deveronside is one of 262 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. Their work, along with others from across the UK, reminds us of all the ways in which fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them.

 

The King’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Following his accession, His Majesty The King announced his desire to continue the Award.

 

Recipients are announced annually on 14th November, the King’s Birthday.  Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse and include groups from across the UK, such as a charity using a refurbished pool as a community hub in south Wales; volunteer doctors providing pre-hospital care across rural Cumbria and a village renewal organisation promoting sustainability, equality and social inclusion in County Antrim.

 

Representatives of Deveronside Enable will receive the award crystal and certificate from Andrew Simpson, Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire later this winter. In addition, two volunteers from Deveronside Enable will attend the garden party at Holyrood House, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.

 

"Congratulations to everyone involved with Deveronside Enable.  I am delighted with their well deserved success in winning the King’s Award for Voluntary Service.  The small group of dedicated volunteers have provided a social support network and fantastic opportunities for adults in our area with special needs.  Through the support of the local community their programme of entertainment is an important weekly event for large numbers of people.  Volunteering is important for our communities.  The volunteers from the Deveronside Enable Club exemplify the value of volunteering and have helped to enrich the lives of many."

Andrew Simpson, Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire