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Malta Red Cross awarded the National Voluntary Organisation Award, 2015

On December 10th, the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector presented the National Volunteer Award 2015 during an award ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Valletta.

The Awards were presented by the President Coleiro Preca and Helena Dalli, Minister for Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties accompanied by Mr. Nathan Farrugia, Chairperson MCVS.

The aim of the National Award is to

• give broad recognition to the service given by the volunteers and Voluntary Organisations within the community
• create awareness of the exemplary values displayed by the volunteers and organisations
• recognise the important contributions made in various fields
• to symbolically recognise all volunteers in a wide range of sectors including social and health care, culture, education and environment,

In her speech, Minister Dalli recognised the work of the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector and its work in supporting local organisations. She also thanked the many efforts of voluntary organisations and their contribution to society and discussed new schemes which will support local organisations.

The Chairperson of the Council, Nathan Farrugia also spoke about the importance of volunteering as a safeguard for societies values. He focused on the importance of teaching our children about the nature of altruism and thanked the volunteers for their role in maintaining positive values throughout our society.

The Volunteer Organisation Award was awarded to the Malta Red Cross Society.

This is awarded to a Voluntary Organisation that is

• outstanding in their field
• innovative in approach and services within the community
• innovative in terms of recruiting and supporting volunteers

The importance of volunteering was emphasized by President Coleiro-Preca who encouraged volunteering in younger generations to increase social cohesion and civil society and also encouraged a broader appreciation of the positive contribution that volunteers make to the economy.