The Brick, held the Brick’s Big Thankyou celebration at Wigan Cricket Club, where our 145 volunteers were presented with the Queens Award for Voluntary Service by Greater Manchester Deputy Lieutenant Melanie Bryan OBE.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK, and it was presented to the Brick for its work in the community, including the charity’s ongoing work when the COVID pandemic hit.
When the first Lockdown was announced, The Brick went from 80 volunteers to less than 10 overnight, due to shielding, however in a matter of days these 10 volunteers stepped up and helped to recruit 42 new volunteers, to keep the charity running. At this time, The Brick also redesigned its services in just 2 days to urgently accommodate 45 homeless individuals in self-contained accommodation, achieving the goal of ‘everybody in’.
In the last 12 months alone, The Brick’s volunteers have carried out 17,424 volunteer hours across a range of services including the food bank, retail, supporting people the charity works with, delivering food parcels and much more.
The Bricks Big Thank You Celebration was attended by the charity’s volunteers, staff and supporters and was held at Wigan Cricket Club in Wigan town centre.
The Brick was presented the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service by Melanie Bryan OBE, the Deputy Lieutenant of Greater Manchester.
Melanie Bryan OBE said: “This is an extremely prestigious and difficult award to win, and very few organisations across the UK actually win it. So, it is a huge achievement when wonderful groups like The Brick are recognised in this way.”
Louise Green, CEO at The Brick, said: “I was delighted when I found out that we had won the Queens Award for Voluntary Service and I was especially delighted that our incredible volunteers were to be recognised in this way.
“When it comes to The Brick, quite simply, we couldn’t do what we do without our inspirational volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to continue without their continued help and support. So, I personally want to thank all our volunteers who work hard every day to make the Brick what it is, and who support those in our community who need our help the most.”
Volunteer, Jean Groves said: “I started volunteering at the beginning of the first lockdown as being retired and living on my own I wanted to be doing something with people and for people. I’ve been volunteering for The Brick ever since.”
The Brick’s Big thank you was also attended by Wigan Council representatives including Chief Executive David Molyneux, who said of The Brick’s volunteers: “It is a privilege to have been invited to this event on behalf of Wigan Council. I remember The Brick in the early years and the volunteers who stepped up then. Volunteers like these, are the backbone of society, and I want to thank The Brick’s volunteers for all the work they do, 365 days a year.”
The Brick is looking for volunteers to join the team across a range of its services and if you would like to volunteer for the Brick you can email volunteer coordinator Emma Shaw at: Emma_S@thebrick.org.uk.