Solihull charities handed Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service at special ceremony - The Solihull Observer

Solihull charities handed Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service at special ceremony

Solihull Editorial 30th Oct, 2019   0

SOLIHULL charities which help organise events and bring a splash of colour into garden projects across the borough have collected their awards bestowed on them by the Queen.

Gro Organic CIC and Lions Club Zone C were among 16 charities from across the West Midlands to receive a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – the highest award a voluntary group can receive.

The organisations were invited to a presentation event at Birmingham Hippodrome and were handed their gongs by the Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, John Crabtree OBE.

Chelmsley Wood-based Gro Organic works with volunteers with mental health and disabilities to transform deprived plots of land into flourishing green spaces across the Midlands.




Gro Organic CIC has worked with thousands of youth offenders and women in refuge across the whole of the West Midlands and Coventry.

The charity’s chief operating officer Michael Forbes and chief executive Sarah Forbes are also in the process of setting up and urban school, which will enable families to enjoy camp fires, foraging and camping in built-up environments.


Speaking after the charity was given the accolade in June Michael said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive the award and extremely pleased to have all our hard work recognised, we are over the moon and it pays tribute to all the hard work and dedication of all our volunteers.”

The Solihull-based Lions Zone C group of the Lions Club International 105M has more than 146 volunteers across the region and seven clubs in the borough.

They host a number of activities including carnivals, prostate screening services and firework displays which all raise funds to hand out to local and international charities.

In 2017 the groups raised £14,600 and handed this out to 30 charities.

The ethos of the charity is to celebrate and support others rather than themselves.

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