In honour of Her Majesty The Queen and the great example she has set in her 70 years of service, The Royal Voluntary Service launched the Platinum Champions Awards for volunteers. This award recognises the outstanding contribution of volunteers across the UK. 

The entry standard was incredibly high, with over 3,000 nominations and INS volunteer, Margaret Lyons, was honoured to be one of the 390 hand-picked volunteers chosen by a judging panel presided over by The Duchess of Cornwall. 

“Recognising the hard work of volunteers is extremely important, and the Platinum Champions Awards does that” said Luke Donovan, INS Chair “Margaret works tirelessly for our members and is an example to us all. Her commitment and enthusiasm has helped make the INS the charity it is today. Congratulations to Margaret from all of us, this award is well deserved!” 

“I enjoy every minute of my volunteering, and I love helping people. This award is such an honour” said Margaret. “I work with a great group of people who enjoying volunteering just as much as I do. We are all proud of being of INS and enjoy helping in any way we can.” 

INS is a Stevenage based volunteer led charity that aims to help reduce the social isolation amongst older people. They work hard to support the most vulnerable members of our community, and they arrange many different activities including weekly social events, exercise classes, day trips and much more.