
Walking With The Wounded receives The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
Walking With The Wounded’s volunteering programme OP-REGEN has been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
OP-REGEN, based in Greater
Manchester, launched in February 2020 is a volunteering programme that offers a
platform for ex-military personnel to recognise their inherent skills and
empowers them to demonstrate these skills to the wider community. For those
that have landed on hard times, the project aims to support these individuals
and their families to reintegrate back into society and to have a meaningful
positive impact on the environment in which they reside; additionally, for
those not in employment the projects aims to assist in their journey back into
the workplace.
Although focused on ex-military,
more generally the project is supported by volunteers from all backgrounds
including Corporate UK and encourages these individuals to work together, leading
to a greater increase in community cohesion and safer neighbourhoods.
Fergus Williams, CEO of Walking
With The Wounded commented: “OP-REGEN embodies the future ambitions of
Walking With The Wounded to support ex-military seeking support and to find those
that require support but are not actively seeking it. I am immensely proud of the programme and
delighted that the hard work and commitment of all those who have volunteered
through OP-REGEN are being recognised by being awarded the Queen’s Award for
Voluntary Service.
“OP-REGEN provides our clients, our
corporate partners and ultimately, our armed forces community, with the
opportunity to ‘serve again’ by utilising the inherent skills of the service
leaver and showcasing the standards and values of those that have served.”
Walking With The Wounded is one of
241 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the
prestigious award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on
year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative
ideas to make life better for those around them.
Veteran, beneficiary of WWTW and
volunteer for OP-REGEN, Christopher commented: “I chose to volunteer with Walking
With The Wounded after my Employment Advisor suggested it would help me if I
engaged in OP-REGEN. It’s helped me
develop my confidence and add structure to my week which will ultimately
support my journey back into employment which is my main goal.”
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary
Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their
local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden
Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of The
Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse. They
include volunteer groups from across the UK, including an inclusive tennis club
in Lincolnshire; a children’s bereavement charity in London; a support group
those living with dementia and their carers in North Yorkshire; a volunteer
minibus service in Cumbria; a group supporting young people in Belfast; a
community radio station in Inverness and a mountain rescue team in Powys.
Representatives of Walking With The
Wounded will receive the award crystal and certificate from the Lord-Lieutenant
of Greater Manchester later this summer. Furthermore two volunteers from
Walking With The Wounded will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May
2022 (depending on restrictions at the time), along with other recipients of
this year’s Award.