The Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Association
have been honoured to receive the following awards:
Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Association receives
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service
The MBE for volunteer groups
Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Association are honoured to have received The King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2024. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Association (GMMA) is a group of magistrates who give up their time to deliver workshops free of charge to schools, colleges and community groups. Our goal is to increase awareness of the role of the Magistracy and engage with young people across Greater Manchester so they can make better choices within the law.
We run a variety of sessions on topical issues such as Knife Crime and Cyberbullying through interactive quizzes, virtual reality workshops and mock trial competitions. We work alone and in partnership with Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Early Break, Virtual Decisions and Crimestoppers. In addition, we organise contextual visits for all magistrates to prisons and the Probation Service and raise funds locally to support our work in the community.
Last year GMMA volunteers conducted 197 visits and reached 8,560 young people across all ten Greater Manchester boroughs.
These voluntary activities are carried out by members of the GMMA in addition to their other voluntary role of sitting as magistrates.
GMMA is one of 281 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. Our 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.
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 14th 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 12th century castle in south Wales; volunteers providing English lessons for refugees in Stirling and an organisation providing a opportunities to engage in the arts for people with learning disabilities in County Fermanagh.
Representatives of GMMA will receive the award crystal and certificate from Diane Hawkins JP LLB, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester later this summer. In addition, two volunteers from GMMA will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May and June 2025, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
Rachel Medcalf JP, the Greater Manchester Magistrates in the Community Coordinator said: “We are so delighted that our group’s work has been recognised. Working in the classroom with young people from all the different demographics that make up Greater Manchester is hard work but hugely rewarding. If we can get just one young person to think differently about carrying a knife or posting harmful content, we feel we have made a small but important difference. “
Tom Franklin, chief executive of the national Magistrates’ Association said:
“We are incredibly proud of the Greater Manchester branch Magistrates in the Community team, for being honoured with this prestigious award. They have worked very hard over many years – giving countless hours of their time – to educate and inspire thousands of Mancunians, in schools, community centres and other places across Greater Manchester. Receiving the King’s Award for Voluntary Service today is a just reward for all their work. Well done!
“As well as the team in Greater Manchester, many of our members in other parts of England and Wales run local Magistrates in the Community teams too. In the year to July 2024 alone, hundreds of volunteers took important messages about the dangers of drugs, knife crime and cyberbullying, to schools, colleges and community groups across England and Wales – from Devon to Northumbria and from Gwent to Norfolk. They all do amazing and important work.”
In all, 281 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups have received the prestigious King’s Award for Voluntary Service this year. The award aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to support their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the late Queen’s Golden Jubilee and was continued following the accession of the King.
The official Kings Award for Voluntary Service website is https://kavs.dcms.gov.uk/
KAVS Twitter @KingsAwardVS and
Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/KingsAwardVS/
To can find out more about the national MA Magistrates in the Community click here:
https://www.magistrates-association.org.uk/get-involved/help-educate-your-community/
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The High Sheriff of Greater Manchester's Citation that was presented to the GM-MIC team following another very sucessful Annual Year 6 Mock Trial Competition, in June 2023.
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Greater Manchester Magistrates Association
are very proud to have been awarded the
MA National Education Award 2023.
This was awarded by the national Magistrates Association at their Annual Conference AGM 2023 in recognition of the work of the Greater Manchester Magistrates in the Community Team.
The citation with the award stated:
"Your branch has visited the most schools of any other branch in relation to your size demonstrating strong community outreach and educating initiative."
Rachel, the Greater Manchester Magistrates in the Community (MIC) Coordinator accepted the award on behalf of the whole MIC team. To hear what Rachel said about how we aim to influence the choices young people make through the GM MIC outreach work, click on the following link:
Details of this on the Magistrates Association X or Twitter feed can be seen via the following link:
https://x.com/MagsAssoc/status/1736802937576501735?s=20