The Friends of the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
Volunteers have welcomed over 97,000 visitors to the Centre in 2015 and help visitors engage with this stretch of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.
There are 79 volunteer members of the Friends of the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre. Volunteers assist with greeting visitors, selling items from the shop, identifying fossils and other finds, helping with fossil walks and rock-pooling as well as providing local information. In addition some volunteers help with Junior Rangers, carry out internal maintenance tasks, assist with administration and organise social events for all 159 Friends (subscribers and volunteers).
Phil Davidson, Senior Warden at the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, said:
“This is a fantastic achievement for our volunteers and I would like to thank all of them for their unwavering support. Without their help, the 2 permanent and 2 seasonal staff could not keep this busy educational charity open”
Jim Rose, Chairman of the Trustees for the Centre said:
“This award is great honour for the volunteers and Friends of the Centre who provide a welcome, geological information and great pleasure to all those who visit and enjoy the Centre. Especial thanks to Roy Churchman for instigating this recognition and making known the wonderful achievement of all those involved”.
Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson, said:
“I would like to congratulate all groups who received this year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, in recognition of their fantastic achievements. The huge amount of work and commitment these organisations put into their local communities is surpassed only by the passion and motivation of the individuals who volunteer. I hope these groups continue to inspire others to get involved and make a positive impact so that we can continue to build a more compassionate society.”
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work in their communities. The awards were created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and winners are announced each year on 2 June – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.
The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre is a small educational charity that was set up by the local community over 30 years ago to inspire to engage with this incredible stretch of coastline. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please contact the Centre on 01297 560772 or [email protected].
