City of Wolverhampton Council is urging people to nominate voluntary organisations for The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) 2023.

A QAVS is the highest award that can be presented to a voluntary group in the UK.

Introduced by Her Majesty the Queen to mark her Golden Jubilee 2002, a QAVS is considered to be the equivalent of the MBE for volunteer groups and is awarded for life.  

For the purpose of the QAVS, a voluntary group is classified as 2 or more people providing a specific benefit in a local area, been operating for at least 3 years and with more than half of its volunteers having the right of residence in the UK.   

Council deputy chief executive, Mark Taylor, said: “Nominations for 2023 are now open. If you know of any voluntary organisations or groups that deserve recognition, why not nominate them?

“Some very worthy Wolverhampton groups have received this prestigious honour in previous years, often the people involved are unsung heroes and heroines, but we believe their work deserves recognition and a wider profile.

“The fantastic work our volunteer organisations do can only be recognised if people nominate them in the first place.”

For more information about the awards and how to submit a nomination please visit The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.