A north-east charity is celebrating after two of its services were among the list of recipients of a prestigious award.
Both VSA’s Contact Centre and Mercat Bookshop are to be given a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
The accolades are given out to volunteers the length and breadth of the country in recognition of people, or groups, who provide a vital service to their local community. Last year, there were just 11 awards given out across the entire UK.
The contact centre was first opened nearly 25 years ago and is unique in the north-east in that it provides an informal meeting
place for children and their estranged parents, in the wake of a marriage separation.
While it does not provide a long-term solution, it allows parents to meet with their child until a more formal legal custody arrangement can be reached.
The idea behind the centre is that it allows parents and children to strengthen their relationships again, after often spending months apart.
VSA said the centre would not be able to continue without the help of volunteers.
Anna Garden, director of children and families Services for the charity, said: “It’s about giving them the opportunity of seeing their children in a neutral venue.
“Sometimes they haven’t seen each other in weeks or months so it’s about giving them the confidence to be around one another on their own.
“The layout of the building means that the parent dropping the child off doesn’t need to see the other one – a situation that can often lead to arguments and stress for the child.
“The volunteers get a lot out of this, there’s people from all sorts of different backgrounds – from law students looking for experience to retirees.”
As well as the contact centre, the VSA’s Mercat Bookshop has also won an award.
The shop – which is run with the help of around 40 regular volunteers – helps generate around £20,000 for the charity each year, which is then put back into VSA projects across the north-east.
As well as its financial benefits, the shop is also partly staffed by adults who the charity supports, who have mental health issues, giving them the opportunity to interact with the local community.
A group of volunteers from both services are now invited to the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace later this year.