FRIENDS of St Helens Cemetery is a group of volunteers devoted to taking care of place where towns people head to remember their loved ones.
The group has helped the upkeep of the cemetery grounds on Rainford Road since 2006 and have been praised within the community.
Their efforts were recognised earlier this year as they were awarded the Queen’s Award for voluntary service; the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The endless list of work they do in the cemetery includes a year-round flower delivery service, the PITY11 children’s memorial garden, and building a summer house for visitors to sit and reflect.
To go hand in hand with their recent award, equivalent to an MBE, the group won the Pride of Place Award on Friday.
The impact they have on the community was visible on the night, as a wave of standing ovation and applause followed the announcement.
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Marlene Downey, of the Friends of St Helens Cemetery, said: "It’s amazing – it’s a real honour to receive this and for our town to recognise the work that we do at the cemetery.
"We aim to involve the local community and the local people in visiting the cemetery.
"We have people from around the world contact us and people from St Helens have travelled the world. Covid especially, has made a lot of interest in family history and people looking at their roots, so we get messages and calls from around the world who use the cemetery.
"We want to say to the people of St Helens to come along to the beautiful cemetery that we have for this town."
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