Charity’s volunteers receive country’s highest honour

It was a proud moment for our volunteers when they were presented with the country’s highest honour in a prestigious ceremony at a country house near Scarborough.

Around 20 staff and helpers from York Against Cancer went along to Ganton Hall for the presentation of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Barry Dodd CBE.

The award is the Britain’s highest award for volunteering and the equivalent of an MBE.

Mr Dodd, the Queen’s representative in North Yorkshire,  presented awards to five charities including York Against Cancer.  Pat Leveson, wife of founder Professor Steve Leveson, and the charity’s oldest volunteer, Barbara Guffick, accepted a commemorative crystal trophy and a certificate signed by the Queen.

The Lord Lieutenant said it was a great personal privilege for him to be acknowledging the charity efforts of people in England’s biggest and best county. “It’s so good to be here with such great people in this room,” he said.

Accepting York Against Cancer’s award, Pat Leveson said the charity was fortunate to have so many people willing to volunteer for services from baking cakes to driving people to hospital for treatment or staffing the cash registers at the charity’s shops.

Their work meant the charity was able to keep overheads to a minimum and spend its money how donors would wish it to be spent.  “We have been so lucky to have these volunteers, and we can’t thank them enough,” she said.