Volunteers nominated for awards

This annual award, established by the Queen in 2002, to mark her Golden Jubilee, recognises the vital role played by the hundreds of thousands of volunteers working in the community.

Each year approximately 100 awards are made across the whole of the United Kingdom and the announcement of this year's winners is due on June 2.

Representatives of the East Sussex groups nominated for the national award will be honoured at a reception on Thursday (May 17) held by the Lord Lieutenant, Mrs Phyllida Stewart-Roberts at the Eastbourne campus of Sussex Downs College.

Among the organisations nominatred are:

Chailey Colts which provides regular football coaching for children aged 6-16+ years and supervises six games each Sunday during the season. Through fundraising efforts, the club also supports youth football in Farida, near Georgetown in Gambia

Chailey Heritage is a school for children and young people with severe and multiple disabilities aged 3-19 years. Volunteers enhance the school day and provide the necessary additional support to facilitate student participation in activities such as swimming and horse riding.

Ringmer Against Drivers Acting Dangerously (RADAR) is a pressure group operating a Speed Watch programme to introduce the awareness of the dangers of speeding and works to cut vehicle speeds in the village.

Volunteers canvas public opinion and provide information on traffic related matters.

Among the other nominees are the Friends of East Sussex Hospices.

The Friends raise money by organising fundraising events, including charity golf days, lunches, concerts, bridge drives, street collections, raffles and auctions.

The money is used to support hospices in the county.