Our Vision Our Future receives the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service

Our Vision Our Future is a voluntary group based in Chesterfield Derbyshire.  We have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

Our Vision Our Future is a self-advocacy, self help group run by and for adults with learning disabilities, we offer a safe place to meet 3 times a week.  We are an essential circle of support for people who otherwise have little choice or opportunity to socialise, access their community, meet and make friends or have relationships.  We have celebrated two weddings!  We access ability and aim to fulfil potential by encouraging and supporting our members to use their skills and talents to get involved in valuable and worthwhile work.  Having purpose, new experiences, learning new things results in a more active and fulfilling life.  “Without Our Vision Our Future we would be stuck at home with nothing to do, lonely, bored and isolated.”

Our members volunteer their time to help and support not only each other but also their community. We work with and support many local and national organisations and value the support they give to us.

Our Vision Our Future is one of 230 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 a community shop in Cornwall, an environmental group in Swansea, a group working with refugees and vulnerable people in Stirling and a thriving community arts centre in County Down.

Representatives of Our Vision Our Future will receive the award from Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Mr William Tucker later this summer.  Furthermore two volunteers from Our Vision Our Future will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2021, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.

Maria Britland (Chair Person) and Emma Kellet (Vice Chair) wish to say a big thank you to everyone at Our Vision Our Future for their hard work, for their friendship and the way everyone supports each other.  This has continued throughout covid-19.   Receiving the Queens Award is wonderful news, it makes us proud and means a lot to us.  Having our work recognised makes us very happy and gives us much to smile about during this difficult ‘stay at home’ time.  We wish to thank Julia Cook – Derbyshire Voluntary Action for nominating us for the Queens Award, Simon Rose – Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Trust Foundation and Toby Perkins Member of Parliament for their letters of support.

Thank you to all our funders who have kept us going, (28 years!) without this our work and the joy it brings would not be possible.