Olive Tree receives Queens Award for Voluntary Service

Olive Tree Cancer Support Group receives The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service

Olive Tree Cancer Support Group, as a group of 5 staff and over 60 volunteers based in Crawley and Horsham have been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. In addition to receiving our award we will also be receiving a special designation to QAVS awardees that provided impactful support to the community in response to the pandemic.

The Olive Tree is a welcoming and trusted ‘safe place’ for its cancer patient community and for their loved ones, offering reassurance and relaxation at times of most need. Its empathetic and supportive team provides valued services, help and key understandings that enable and empower patients to meet challenges throughout “their cancer journey. 

Olive Tree Cancer Support Group is one of 241 national and 1 of 3 local 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. 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. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse. They include volunteer groups from across the UK, including an inclusive tennis club in Lincolnshire; a children’s bereavement charity in London; a support group those living with dementia and their carers in North Yorkshire; a volunteer mini bus service in Cumbria; a group supporting young people in Belfast; a community radio station in Inverness and a mountain rescue team in Powys.

Representatives of Olive Tree will receive the award crystal and certificate from the Lord Lieutenant later this summer. In an addition for this year Olive Tree along with selected other Queen’s Award recipients are receiving a special designation for providing impactful support to the community in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, by managing a significant increase in our usual work and providing support in extra ways.

Graham Nicoll, Chairman says: "The Trustees of Olive Tree Cancer Support Group are delighted that the charity has been recognised for this prestigious award and particularly commended for its exceptional performance throughout the pandemic. We are so very proud of all of our staff and every one of our volunteers and thank each of them for their dedication and hard work in supporting our members and achieving these exceptional standards.”

‍