Aquabox, a water survival charity manged and run by the Rotary Club of Wirksworth has received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the United Kingdom’s highest award for voluntary groups.
The charity provides boxes of essential humanitarian aid together with a special filter to guarantee potable drinking water to people in crisis-hit areas.
It recently sent 4,500 boxes to Turkey and the Lebanon to aid Syrian refugees and almost 2,000 have been shipped to earthquake-hit Nepal. Since the charity was formed in 1992 more than 105,000 boxes have been sent across the world.
More than 70 volunteers from the community go to the Aquabox depot each week to assemble the water filters or pack the boxes, which contain cooking utensils, hygiene equipment, tools, shelter materials, baby clothes and educational items. This is in addition to the thousands of Rotary members and hundreds of Rotary clubs across the country that channel their time and talents into supporting Aquabox.
“Everybody connected with Aquabox is absolutely thrilled,” said Mike Tomlinson, Chairman of the Trustees. “It recognises the hard work and dedication of all the volunteers who selflessly give up their time to ensure this vital aid goes to places where it is needed most.”
Mike and wife Dianne – also an Aquabox volunteer – attended the Queen’s Garden party at Buckingham Palace last month where they met other recipients of the award: “It is fantastic that Aquabox has been recognised in this way and it was an honour to meet representatives of other important charities doing great work in the UK and overseas.”
The award committee chairman, former broadcast journalist Sir Martyn Lewis congratulated the winners: “The thousands of volunteers who give up their spare time to help others in the community and to help solve problems demonstrate the very best democracy in action.”
The award will be presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire William Tucker later in the summer.
Published: Wednesday 22nd June 2016
