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04 Jun 2008 (archived)

Youth charity gains the Queen's Award

A Witney charity that works with young people has been awarded the prestigious Queen's Award for Voluntary Service 2008.

Base 33 was nominated by Witney resident, Juliet Curry, for its outstanding contribution to the lives of young people in Witney and the surrounding area.

Base 33 works with all young people, but has been particularly successful with socially excluded and hard to reach teenagers. It has run two trips to Africa exposing young people from less than privileged homes to their counterparts in Sierra Leone and Ghana and has seen this experience transform these young people.

Mark Bennett youth worker said, "It's brilliant that the work we do is being recognised, we work long hours, and although it can be rewarding it is also sometimes very hard, I am delighted that Base 33 has got this award, it's a big thumbs up to us and all the young people we work with."

Working in partnership with The Henry Box and Woodgreen schools Base 33 offers young people at risk of school exclusion the opportunities to achieve basic GCSE and life skills. This year, through Base 33, a dozen, Year 11 school leavers will gain their GCSE qualifications, a Certificate in Personal Effectiveness and a Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Certificate. They will move into work or further education with the knowledge that Base 33 staff and volunteers believe in them and will be there for them if they need it in the future.

West Oxfordshire District Council supports Base 33 in their delivery of detached youth work in the evenings in Witney and, working together with the Police Community Support Officers, these youth workers have seen a significant decrease in antisocial behaviour.

Base 33 has many volunteers who help to make it's projects a success, one of the volunteers Sue, who cooks breakfast for the young people every morning said, " doing a little thing, like giving these young people a decent breakfast every morning, and getting to know them has been a real privilege, they have become friends"

This year has seen Base 33 receive additional support from many areas:

The Witney Rotary Club has chosen Base 33 as its charity. It has funded a trip to an outdoor challenge centre in Wales, provided alarms for detached workers and the equipment for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme expeditions.
OCHA (Oxfordshire community housing association) funded Base 33's contribution to ARTWEEKS, when 10 students displayed their work at the Mellor Gallery following a 6 week course in abstract art.
Cllr Roger Curry, Chair of West Oxfordshire District Council has chosen Base 33 as his designated Charity. Local churches and individuals have all made significant contributions of both time and money.

Base 33 is a charity that was set up by 3 local churches in 1998 the Methodist, Congregational and Anglican Churches provide the governance and management of the organisation and the underpinning of funding. Current Chair of Trustees Richard Donahue Methodist minister said, "Base 33 is an example of God's love in action, it has brought me into contact with some remarkable people, staff and volunteers, I cannot praise too highly their commitment, professionalism and expertise."

Jude Levermore Base 33's manager said, "I know we do a fantastic job, I am very proud of the way young people respond to the way we work with them and the opportunities we offer them. Young people get a lot of bad press, but this award proves that with the commitment and skills of hardworking volunteers a community can help its young people feel connected again to the society in which they live."

Additional notes:

The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service

The Award recognises the vital role played by the hundreds of thousands of 'unsung heroes' of the voluntary and community world and emphasises the importance of continuing recognition of their work.

In 2002 her Majesty announced the creation of a new, annual Award to mark the occasion of her Golden Jubilee. Since then a number have been given each year to recognise "outstanding achievement by groups of people ... who volunteer their own time to enhance and improve the quality of life and opportunity for individuals or other groups in the community".

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