I do hope the following exciting news will make you feel extremely proud today! You absolutely deserve it!

At 9am this morning (14th November 2023), on the King's birthday, 'The Palace' announced that The Friends of Didsbury Park has been awarded The King's Award for Voluntary Service.

A Milestone in Community Service

This prestigious award is the highest honour a local volunteer group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.

Not only can we now use the King's Award for Voluntary Service logo on everything we do, but this award is granted to us for as long as our charity exists.

Teamwork and Dedication Behind the Scenes

Personally, I am proud to bursting, of everybody (and there are hundreds), who has ever put on a hi-vis vest and given their time, skills and enthusiasm volunteering in Didsbury to enable us all to transform a derelict green space into a beautiful park for our community to enjoy.

However, it is not just our volunteers who have enabled us to achieve this remarkable award. Behind the scenes, we have a totally committed and hard-working board of trustees and officers who provide our charity's day-to-day management structure, and, of course, none of this would be possible without the superb support of our circa 200 FoDP members and MCC staff. Well done everyone. This is a huge team achievement.

I must admit I have known about this award for just over a month, and luckily I have been in Australia for most of this time so it was easier for me to keep the news a secret, as I was requested to do. I am so relieved that we can now openly talk about it and celebrate it together.

Celebrating Together: A Look Ahead

Anybody visiting the park today (14th November 2023) will see lots of balloons and posters to celebrate the announcement.

Our first real opportunity to celebrate together as a group will be next Monday morning (20th November, 2023). So to mark the occasion we are planning to have a special cake and prosecco party when we have our break at 11am. I hope to see you there!

Congratulations once again on receiving this prestigious award.

With best wishes

Brian