We were delighted to invite our wonderful volunteers Paul and Pauline to represent Small Acts of Kindness at the Buckingham Palace Garden Party last week, in acknowledgement and celebration of  receiving the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2021. 

Paul and Pauline have been a part of our volunteer management team for several years and are an integral part of the smooth and efficient operations of Small Acts of Kindness.  They help organise and manage the logistics of handling hundreds of pallets of stock through to the co-ordination of packing over 10,000 gift bags every year.

Paul and Pauline shared their memorable day with us:

‘We were surprised and thrilled to be nominated by Lynne to represent Small Acts of Kindness at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party. The charity had been invited to put forward two of their volunteers for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we were honoured to attend.

Our day began with an excellent lunch at a hotel at St James' Park where we sat by a window and watched the rain set in! Fortunately we'd seen the forecast and came equipped with raincoats and umbrellas.

Members of the Royal Family appeared promptly at 4pm. The Queen was represented by Prince Charles, accompanied by Camilla, Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Kent. They moved slowly along designated routes through the crowds, talking to selected guests.

Two military bands played alternately from opposite sides of the garden and afternoon tea was served in a huge marquee; the smoked salmon blinis and strawberry tarts were our favourites. The Palace gardens are extensive and looked lovely, though not seen at their best through the rain. It was truly a day we shall never forget.

We chose to volunteer as we wanted to help others and keep busy in our retirement.  It's a delight to work with Small Acts of Kindness because it's small, local and - most importantly - everyone involved is so lovely. Thank you Lynne and the team.’