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The Barnes Children's Literature Festival in south west London has been awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK.
it is one of 241 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year, which is considered the MBE for voluntary organisations. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, and recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of the coronation.
Founder and director Amanda Brettargh told The Bookseller she was "delighted" to receive the award: "I think when you start these things, when you're sitting around your kitchen table wondering who is going to put up the posters and where you're going to put them, I don't think you ever think somebody might come along and say 'well done.' But I think when it happens it's a really delightful thing."
The festival was founded by local families in 2015 and is completely organised and delivered by more than 150 unpaid volunteers aged from eight to 80 from local schools, charities, churches and community organisations.
Brettargh said she was inspired to create the festival after seeing the way children were "utterly transfixed" by live literature, and is particularly proud of the festival's primary schools programme, which is free to every state maintaned school in London.
In 2019 they provided more than 5,000 free places at author events for primary school children from all over London, from as far away as Waltham Forest. Following the complete closure of the Hammersmith Bridge in 2020, the festival has received Arts Council funding for a further 2,000 free places for primary schools in Tower Hamlets on 17th and 18th June.
"We're very proud of the fact that Barnes is put on by families, for families and so for that reason we're 100% committed to making sure those families have an amazing time," said Brettargh.
Representatives from the festival will receive the award crystal and certificate from Gillian Norton, deputy lieutenant of Richmond, later this summer. Two volunteers will also attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2022, along with other recipients of this year’s award.
Brettargh says she is now looking forward to the return of the festival from 17th June to 27th June.
"All the time we're thinking of new and other ways we can reach more children and families with the power of live literature, that's our dream," she said. "We want to get them back in the room with books and create excitement about books again."