Presentation of The Duke of Edinburgh’s and Millennium Volunteers Award

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

This year Midland Region Chief Commissioner Mrs Lesley Knighton was delighted to present The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards to Girlguiding Staffordshire. Mr Phil Brown, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Director Midlands presented the Millennium Volunteers Awards. 190 attended the presentation and everyone was captivated to hear about the achievements of the young people and how they had fulfilled the sections of their Awards.

A Gold Award recipient from Stafford described the day she went to St. James’s Palace and what it meant to her to be presented with her Gold Award by His Royal Highness Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh. Two recently completed Gold participants from Whittington gave an entertaining account of how they along with other young people represented Girlguiding Staffordshire at a 50th Anniversary Celebration in the presence of His Royal Highness the Earl of Wessex at Shugborough Hall in January.

The activities that the young people chose to achieve their Awards are numerous and we heard from or saw demonstrations from some of the young people. We were entertained by a Bronze Award recipient and her dance teacher with a demonstration of the Salsa. She had chosen this activity for the Physical Section for her Bronze Award. Another Bronze recipient from Whittington told us about her experiences helping at her local Library to complete the Service Section of her Bronze Award.

For the Skills section many of the young people choose to play musical instruments. We were treated to a delightful demonstration by a third Bronze Award recipient from Newcastle on her flute. A Gold participant from Burntwood told us about her experiences of helping physically disabled people at a holiday centre with Vitalise UK in Nottingham to complete the Residential Section of her Gold Award.

A Millennium Volunteer from Lichfield gave an enthusiastic, entertaining and inspiring talk about how the volunteering hours she had accumulated had been through Guiding, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and other activities she is involved in to complete 500 hours of Volunteering. Louise had totaled up all her hours over the last twelve months and the grand total was in fact 800, a truly inspiring Volunteer.

In Girlguiding Staffordshire this year there were 23 Bronze, 6 Silver and 10 Gold Awards completed. Four of the ten Gold Awards have already been to St James’s Palace to be presented with their Award by the Duke of Edinburgh. One of the ten Gold Awards was presented with her gold brooch and is waiting for her date to go to the Palace to be presented with her Award. The remaining five of the ten Gold Awards have had their books passed by County, Region, Girlguiding CHQ and are now waiting for a date at the Palace to be presented with their Award. There were also 7 Bronze, 6 Silver and 2 Gold Sectional Certificates awarded.

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Millennium Volunteers Awards

Millennium Volunteers Certificates were awarded in their current format for the last time at this year’s Presentation 10 for 100 hours, 6 for 200 hours and 2 for 500 hours of Volunteering. They will now be known as Volunteer Awards and will still be awarded to 16 – 24 year olds who complete their volunteering within a twelve month period. The main difference being that there is no minimum or maximum number of hours of volunteering that can count towards the Award. This new format for the Award is continuing to be available to all 16 – 24 year olds within Girlguiding Staffordshire and it is hoped that even more Senior Section members will participate in the Award and get the vast amount of voluntary hours they give to Guiding as well as numerous other voluntary activities recognised.

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