Queen's Award for Hastings and Rother YMCA

It is known locally as The Y Centre and is based in St Paul’s Road, St Leonards.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.

It comes at a time when chairman Judith Monk is marking 40 years of voluntary service with Hastings and Rother YMCA.

The Y Centre was nominated by three of their local users for their work with families and young people. The Centre has developed a closely bonded community who offer mutual support to each other and have created a warm and welcoming environment. Hastings and Rother YMCA is one of only 244 local charities from across the entire UK to receive the prestigious award this year.

Their work reminds us of all the ways in which fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them. The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities.

Representatives of Hastings and Rother YMCA received the Award Crystal and Certificate from Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex, Andrew Blackman DL, on Friday November 4 at Azur in St Leonards.

Judith Monk, Chair of Hastings and Rother YMCA said: “I am delighted that our group’s work has been recognised, our small staff team and generous, tireless volunteers have always given everything and more to encouraging and supporting each other and our much loved community. That this has happened in my 40th year of volunteering for this wonderful charity makes me even more proud!”

The Y Centre is known as the home of roller skating in the Hastings area and young skaters from the centre regularly take part in the Hastings Old Town carnival creating amazing colourful floats.

The Y Centre opened in its present building in 1970 and now facilitates over 800 children, young people and families, every week, supporting its third generation of local people. It also provides a base for many local support groups in the area.