Springboard has been awarded The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award. This prestigious award recognises outstanding work in empowering and helping support 16-25 year olds from across the UK.

This was a one-off award created to mark Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee and 20 years of The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS), with the awards personally approved by His Majesty The King. Each charity, including Springboard, was awarded a handwritten certificate with The King’s signature presented at a Royal Garden Party event in 2023.

The award commends Springboard’s extensive work in helping disadvantaged and unemployed people of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of society to secure jobs within the hospitality sector – through its training, where applicants can gain the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to flourish in a lifelong career.

Discussing his experience with Springboard, 21-year-old Kevin McGowan from Glasgow said: “Springboard has supported me by working with me and letting me go at my own pace. I was never judged or dismissed. I would say to anyone struggling with unemployment, don’t give in, or give up. See it through, and you will get there. I would highly recommend a Springboard training to anyone who asks me.”

Commenting on the award win, Chris Gamm, CEO of Springboard, said: “The recognition of having demonstrated outstanding work by His Majesty the King is an honour for Springboard. We are delighted and grateful to have been awarded The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Volunteering Award for our work to support young, unemployed, and underprivileged people across the UK.

“The award comes at an exciting time when we are celebrating having helped over 10,000 unemployed people secure jobs as part of our ‘Springboard to 2022’ initiative and as we are close to reaching our target of having 2,000 volunteer ambassadors on board.”