Birkdale Community Hub recieves King’s Award for Voluntary Service

Birkdale Community Hub & Library, a volunteer-run charity based in Birkdale, Southport has been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service 2024. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.

Birkdale Community Hub & Library was founded in 2012 (initially as the Birkdale Library Action Group) by a group of Birkdale residents when it was announced that the local council-run library was closing. The group worked tirelessly to find a new premises to reopen a library and community hub and were extremely grateful to Merseyrail when they were offered The Station Master’s House in the centre of Birkdale village. The group, now a registered charity, then proceeded to raise the funding needed to transform the building into the community asset it is today. The library and community hub opened for click-and-collect book services in May 2021 in the midst of the Covid pandemic, and finally opened its doors to the public in July 2021. 

Over the past three years, the charity has thrived, now providing a full schedule of activities six days a week including warm spaces, a home lending service, a creative writing club, jigsaw library, children’s rhyme and story time to name just a few, as well as operating a traditional lending library. Over 2000 people have signed up for free membership of the library. Birkdale Community Hub & Library is entirely volunteer run, with over 100 volunteers all contributing to the charity either through covering shifts in the library, acting as Trustees, running one of the many activities or contributing to some of the ‘back of house’ functions such as communications, event organising and fundraising.  

Birkdale Community Hub & Library is one of only 281 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups in the UK to receive the prestigious award this year. Their work, along with others from across the UK, reminds us of all the ways fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them. 

Phil Margham, Chair of the Trustees of the Birkdale Community Hub & Library commented:

“We are truly honoured to receive The King’s Award for Voluntary Service, especially as we are still a relatively young charity. The Award is testament to the dedication of every single one of our volunteers, past and present, and we are absolutely delighted that they have been recognised for all their hard work. We believe that Birkdale Community Hub & Library provides a unique and vital service within our community that benefits many local people, day in and day out. Thanks must also go to all of those involved in the nomination and awards process.”

The King’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to support their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate Her Majesty The late Queen’s Golden Jubilee and, was continued following the accession of His Majesty the King. 2024 marks the second year of The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. 

Recipients are announced annually on 14^th November. The King’s Birthday. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse and include volunteer groups from across the UK, such as a mental health and wellbeing support network for veterans and their families in Yorkshire; a group preserving a historic 12^th century castle in south Wales; volunteers providing English lessons for refugees in Stirling and an organisation providing opportunities to engage in the arts for people with learning disabilities in County Fermanagh. 

A Christmas Party for the volunteers and supporters of Birkdale Community Hub & Library will be held on 17th December, giving them the chance to celebrate the news of the Award. Representatives of the charity will receive the award crystal and certificate from Mark Blundell, Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside in 2025. In addition, two volunteers from Birkdale Community Hub & Library will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May and June 2025, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.   

Find out more about Birkdale Community Hub & Library here.

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