A Hove charity which helps adults with learning disabilities lead great social lives has received royal praise and recognition for its efforts.
Stay Up Late received a Queen’s Award for its campaigning work on social care practices and its projects including Gig Buddies and Sports Buddies.
Dubbed the equivalent of an MBE, the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service was presented to the charity last night by the Lord-Lieutenant of East Sussex, Andrew Blackman.
Stay Up Late executive director Paul Richards said: “It’s a tremendous honour for us.
“But we really can’t make any changes without all of our volunteers, our trustees, our advisory group members.
“We’re a tiny charity but we reach right across the world and that’s because of being part of this community.
“It’s all about connecting with our communities but also thinking about our core purpose as a charity, our manifesto being about ordinary lives.
“The right for people with learning disabilities to be able to do the stuff lots of us take for granted – the right to have love lives, the right to see your friends when you want, the right to stay up late.”
The declaration by the Queen from 2 June 2022 was read out to the charity’s members, volunteers and trustees gathered at its annual general meeting on Wednesday.
Recent successes by the charity were shared, including the celebration of 10 years of the Gig Buddies project, which pairs up people with and without learning disabilities in Sussex to be friends and to go to events together.
The charity celebrated training 60 new volunteers across 12 training days, with a total of 4,560 hours of volunteering given over the last year.
Fundraising manager Sharon Heathcote described how the best part of the charity was seeing long-term friendships thrive from its projects.
The Stay Up Late campaign now has partner projects in various locations around the UK and in Australia, helping challenge the enforced bedtimes often practised in social care settings.
More collaborations include a relaxed jazz night at the Royal Albert Hall today, Thursday 17 November and a live gig, organised in conjunction with arts charity Carousel at the Green Door Store on Monday 21st November.
Excellent work!