Local couple Shaaron and Andrew Forbes, as well as Naomi Brock, have each been awarded the British Empire Medal for "services to the community" in Buckinghamshire.
Since 2014, Shaaron and Andrew Forbes from Wolverton have been dedicating their time to working as the managers of the Kings Community Centre, where they provide free meals to those in need.
In 2018 it was reported that they supplied 5,000 meals to locals suffering from food poverty. The charity has gained such fame within the community that supermarket giant even donated food and presents to a recent Christmas event, where the couple arranged for the delivery of a hundred free lunches.
The hard times brought about by the pandemic only increased their drive to help others. They decided to convert their weekly food bank into a daily service, undoubtedly providing vital supplies to many during an uncertain period.
Furthermore, they undertook countless food delivery runs to those vulnerable people who were forced to shield themselves away from the coronavirus.
The couple has also given back to the community in their own right respectively. Shaaron launched Baby Basics MK, a non-profit organisation that is dedicated to supporting families living in Milton Keynes and the immediate surrounding area who are in financial hardship. They support young parents with guidance and supplies, having helped over 60 young women since its founding.
Whereas Andrew was a major driving force behind the project to turn a neglected Grade II listed building into the current home of the Kings Community Centre. He also was accredited for offering his own ideas to Thames Valley Police on how to best tackle and present sensitive issues such as anti-social behaviour in the local community.
On the other hand, Naomi Brock runs the Olney is Kind community project online. They aim to support local people in crisis, poverty or any tough situation for any reason.
Naomi manages the project's social media channels and coordinates the produce for their food bank. She doesn't set any specific criteria to apply to use the project's services as she never wants people to feel ashamed for reaching out and asking for help during difficult periods in their life.
She also runs a weekly lunchtime club for local pensioners in the community, working closely with Clifton Court residents to arrange birthday parties for the elderly unable to see their families.
In addition to all this, she was one of the four co-founders of the Olney COVID-19 support group which was designed to help out with any problems locals were suffering from during the pandemic, no matter how small.
The group created a vast network of volunteers willing to assist those in need of help with shopping, financial or technological issues.
