Breathe Easy Clackmannanshire recognised with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
A voluntary group from Alloa which offers information and support for local people and their friends and family within Clackmannanshire and the Forth Valley affected by lung problems has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for voluntary groups in the UK.
Breathe Easy is one of only 230 charities and social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious this year. The number of nominations has increased year on year since the awards were introduced in 2002, showing the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to make life better for those around them.
This is the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK to recognise exceptional service within their communities. The recipients of the award are announced each year on 2 June - the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.
Breathe Easy will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire later this summer. Furthermore, two volunteers form Breathe Easy will attend a garden party, hosted by the Queen, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in July 2021.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Independent Committee Chair said:
"This year’s record number of Queen’s Award awardees are a powerful testimony to the remarkable achievements and innovative ideas which characterise volunteering in the UK. They prove that, more than ever, volunteers beavering away at grassroots level are the active lifeblood of our communities, identifying all kinds of problems and issues and tackling them with enthusiasm, talent and a high degree of success.
The recipients of the Queen’s Award are at the very top of a formidable volunteering movement in the UK involving millions of our citizens and going from strength to strength.”
Lord Lieutenant of Clackmannanshire Johnny Stewart said:
I am absolutely delighted that thisgroup has won such a prestigious award for its pro-active approach to lung disease. I have met many volunteers over the last 4 years and know what an outstanding job they do within the community.This is much more than just a group that meets once a month as other similar groups do. It is about transforming the way people think about lung conditions and influencing policy makers to invest in treatment and support. It is about engaging young people on the dangers of smoking, campaigning for better air quality and embracing technology to make difficult lives easier. What comes through all of this is that by being part of the group the members are not only supported but are also given a renewed purpose in life in that they are doing something positive to help others in a similar position and perhaps even more importantly helping future generations to avoid being afflicted in the same way. I send them my congratulations”