The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) and The Gazette have announced the winners of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award, a special award which commemorates the Late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and aims to celebrate the work done by national charities to empower young people.

What is the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award?

Commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award recognises and celebrates 20 outstanding national charities working to empower young people and provide them with skills and opportunities, with volunteers playing a key role in delivering this work.

Announced prior to her demise, a decision was made by QAVS to continue the award in honour of The Late Queen.

Who were the winners of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award?

The winners of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award were announced in a special supplement of The Gazette on Wednesday 21 December 2022. You see all the winners here: Gazette issue 63910

A presentation event is due to be held in early 2023.

Who could apply for the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award?

In order to apply for the special award, registered national charities needed to:

• be based in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man
• be organised on a national basis (either UK-wide or with a national reach in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales)
• have been in operation for at least five years
• involve volunteers in the delivery of their work
• comply with all relevant governance requirements for their sector, including financial returns, safeguarding and insurance

Charities that benefit children younger than 16 years old could apply, but the judges assessed whether they had a sufficient impact on 16 to 25 year-olds to merit the award.

Who judged the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award?

Applications were judged by a panel of voluntary sector experts who then recommended a list of final awardees to The King.

The panel focused on:

• the scale and impact of the charity in its work with young people aged 16 to 25
• the extent to which volunteers are involved in delivering these outcomes

Charities were asked to provide evidence and examples to demonstrate this when submitting their application.

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award judging panel

Sir Martyn Lewis CBE (Chair)	Ex-broadcaster with a range of involvement in voluntary sector including ex-chair of NCVO.
Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, DL	Welsh politician, television presenter and former wheelchair racer. Patron of The Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Fionnuala Jay O’Boyle DStJ, CBE LL	Lord-Lieutenant for the County Borough of Belfast.
Ndidi Okezie OBE	CEO of UK Youth. Board member for youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint UK, the National Citizen Service and The Mulberry Schools Trust.
Sandra Adair MBE	Former Director of Operations at Volunteer Now and Volunteer Now Enterprises.
Sarah Rossiter	Head of Controls Assurance at the National Lottery Community Fund.
George Thomson	Former CEO of Volunteer Scotland and Director of Networks & Convenings IAVE. Currently Vice President of the Centre for European Volunteering (CEV).
Catriona Williams OBE	Former Chief Executive of Children in Wales. Founder and first President of Eurochild. Currently Co-Chair of Voices From Care Cymru and Trustee of Homestart Cymru.
Ahmed Ibrahim	Co-Chair of the NCS Trust Youth Voice Forum. NCS Board Member and Chair ALBs Youth Forum. Associated board member to the Alliance for Youth Justice.
Zara Khan	British Youth Council Board of Trustees. Winner, BAME Apprenticeship Awards 2021 (Charity, Voluntary and Public Services).

See also

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service 2022

Queen Elizabeth II - In Memoriam

Publication updated: 21 December 2022