NI Queen's Awards Celebrated

There were congratulations all round earlier this week as six local community groups who have received the prestigious Queen's Award for Voluntary Service also won praise from NI's most senior politician.

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson commented on how the award recognises outstanding achievement by groups who volunteer their own time to enhance and improve the quality of life and opportunity for individuals or other groups in the community.

Mr Robinson said: "The Queens Award is recognition of the selflessness of the many hundreds of volunteers working in communities throughout Northern Ireland.

"I would also like to express my thanks to those who give up their own time to put tremendous efforts in to making their communities better places to live," he said.

The six successful Northern Ireland Groups are Morph, Dungannon; Altnagelvin Hospital Choir, Londonderry; Down Lisburn Carers Forum on Learning Disability, Lisburn; RNID Hearing Aid Volunteer Project, Belfast; Rowandle Integrated Primary School Steering Group, Moira and the South East Fermanagh Foundation, Lisnaskea.

The groups from Northern Ireland were amongst 95 groups from across the voluntary and community sectors in the UK to receive the award this year.

The origin of the awards was over seven years ago when they were announced by the Queen as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations.

(BMcC/JM)