Congratulations to No5 Young People!

No5’s dedicated volunteer counsellors, Young Ambassadors and Trustees have been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

No5 provides free, confidential mental health support, counselling and preventative outreach for young people aged 11-25 who live, work or study in the RG postcode area. This year they are celebrating 50 years since they opened their doors in 1971. Demand for their services has never been higher – 456 young people and their families have asked for help in the last 6 months alone.

No5 transferred all of their counselling services online at the start of the pandemic and have supported over 1,000 young people in the last 12 months via telephone support, online counselling, face-to-face counselling in schools, and preventative outreach activities, support and advice produced by No5’s Young Ambassadors.

No5 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.

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 2 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 No5 will receive the award crystal and certificate from Mr James Puxley, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire later this summer. Two representatives from No5 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.

Alyson Wylding, No5’s Director, said:

We are so honoured to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. I am delighted that the hard work and dedication of our volunteer counsellors and Young Ambassadors has been recognised in this way.  Their commitment to support local young people, especially during the extremely challenging circumstances we have all faced during the pandemic, has been astounding. Without them, we would not have been able to support thousands of young people in Reading over the last 50 years.

Further information

• Read more about The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service here. Details of how to nominate a group can be found here.
• Read more about No5 Young People on their website.