ROTARY St Helens were presented with the highest possible award for a volunteer group at a town hall ceremony.
The organisation was bestowed with The Kings Award for Voluntary Service, which is equivalent to an MBE.
The ceremony, which marked Rotary St Helens' exceptional contributions to addressing community health and wellbeing challenges within the St Helens area, was conducted by esteemed dignitaries.
Leading was the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, Mark Blundell, accompanied by Deputy Lieutenant Dr. Nicholas Jedynakiewicz DL, Deputy Lieutenant Peter Woods MBE, DL, Clerk to the Lieutenancy Miss Helen Tanzey, and The Lord Lieutenant’s Secretary Lorraine Shaw.
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The significance of this recognition was underscored by the words of the Lord Lieutenant, who lauded Rotary St Helens as among the first 262 recipients of the prestigious accolade, and was recognised for its innovative and inventive approaches towards tackling community health issues.
The award, bestowed for life, reflects Rotary St Helens' dedication and commitment to uplifting the community through voluntary service, and commitment of Rotary St Helens but also underscores its pioneering role in community service and volunteerism.
Representing Rotary St Helens at the ceremony were president Simon Hairsnape, and past president for the term 2022-23, Paul Winstanley. Their presence underscored the organisation's deep connection and ongoing engagement with the community.
Cllr Lynn Clarke, mayor of St Helens was also in attendance.
Why has Rotary St Helens been recognised?
Rotary St Helens' work has included during the Covid vaccination rollout, offering a community poster, listing top support areas identified within St Helens, accessible by a QR code to take the user to a link to local charities and organisations providing support for access to foodbanks and mental health support.
Also, recognising issues with men’s and women’s health, they delivered, in partnership with primary schools, cards for Mother’s and Father’s Day, featuring a QR Code inside taking the user to support websites. Rotarians also voluntarily supported three primary schools with their reading.
Meanwhile, Rotary St Helens has delivered a Heritage Trail highlighting the rich history of the town, increasing community aspirations and complementing the planned development of the town centre.
They have allowed canoeing sessions to take place, the first time there has been boats on Sankey Canal for 100 years.
Volunteers and helpers have also collected more than £500 bags of rubbish along the canal stretch at Foundry Wharf and facilitated ways of reducing anti-social behaviour in the area rather than just displacing the problem. Many hours have also been spent tidying the gardens at the Friends’ Meeting House.
In his acceptance speech, Paul Winstanley, president of Rotary St Helens at the time of its nomination, said: "On behalf of Rotary St Helens I wish to take this opportunity to thank the people who supported us along this journey in receiving this prestigious award."
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