The Blue Door receives special award from the Queen

The Blue Door, Kirkwall, has been announced as the first ever recipient in Orkney of a special award from Her Majesty the Queen.

The volunteer-run charity shop in Victoria Street has been awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service — the MBE for volunteer groups.

Rita Jamieson, who founded the Blue Door in 2003  was delighted upon hearing news. of the award.

“Who would have thought that our little shop in Orkney would be so highly thought of by the Queen?” she said.

“I am so pleased for all the volunteers who have helped set-up and run the shop over the years. They have been a great support to hundreds of local groups, and helped many thousands of customers.”

Mrs Jamieson is proud of all the efforts of The Blue Door’s volunteers and hopes that they feel the same pride in their achievements.

Eileen Spence, a regular volunteer in the shop, was amazed to hear that the shop had received this new award. She described the satisfaction that the team get from helping out their local community.

“There is a superb team of volunteers at The Blue Door, but we just quietly go about supporting the different groups and helping our customers,” she said.

“None of us look for any special recognition, which makes this award even more exciting. I am just so proud of what the Blue Door achieves day-to-day and week-to-week. None of this would be possible without the volunteers.”