Aberdeen FC Community Trust (AFCCT) is celebrating once again after picking up the prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services.

The award is described as the ‘MBE for volunteer groups’ and recognises the work done by charities across the UK, with the award being the highest honour bestowed on volunteer groups. This latest recognition is further evidence of AFCCT’s community work as the gold standard for football clubs across the country.

AFCCT’s Chief Executive Ally Prockter was understandably delighted with the news, “It came as a bolt out of the blue. I was aware there was a possibility we were getting nominated by somebody external, but for us to receive the email and be notified the news was fantastic. It’s fantastic recognition for my staff, recognition for the volunteers that work with us and to the outstanding work they do for us in the local communities.”

Despite being registered as a charity just four years ago, AFCCT has built a rapport with the local community in a short time and this accolade follows on from success in Europe last September after winning “Best Community & Social Responsibility Programme” for the Dementia Friendly Wellbeing programme. The Queen’s Award is only available for charities that are over three years old and the reality is that most of the recipients have been around for at least ten years which makes AFCCT one of the youngest winners.

Ally added, “We’ve been very fortunate in the fact that when we started with volunteers they were almost falling over themselves because they wanted to work for us or with us. The benefit they get themselves by working with us and local communities has been absolutely fantastic.

“We have nearly 80 volunteers at certain times and a team of 40 to 50 staff so it doubles our person power, but all these volunteers have been through programmes themselves and live in the communities we’re helping. Their commitment and enthusiasm to deliver good value community products is fantastic and the smiles and fun they’re having means they bring their own energy into the room.”

While the awards continue to come, the staff and volunteers at the Community Trust know that the most important part of it all is working with the groups and individuals every day knowing they are making a massive impact on their lives with over 12,500 volunteering hours being accumulated across 50 programmes over the past year. Several volunteers aged 14-65 have shown real selflessness to contribute over 500 hours of their time to help provide support and opportunity for those who need it throughout the North-East.

“There have been so many high-level awards and it’s always nice to receive those things. I always say thank you to people for the team getting those accolades, but the reality is it’s much more about the individual stories you hear about. People being happier about themselves, social inclusion is a big thing and people saying they have somewhere to go means they feel part of the family at the club and at the trust. That’s probably the biggest part for me.”

Congratulations to all at AFCCT.

Watch the full interview with Ally Prockter | please click here
Find our more about the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service- please click here