​"Volunteers at the community-owned Bridgend Farmhouse in Edinburgh have been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
 
The Bridgend volunteers have restored an old farmhouse and opened it as a community hub with a kitchen and café, an exhibition room, workshops for arts and crafts, bike repairs, woodwork and gardening. They are currently building an eco-bothy and a mindfulness garden.
 
“We are particularly delighted that the 80 volunteers involved in our emergency food programme at the height of Covid-19 pandemic last spring and summer have been honoured for all their hard work,” said the chair of the trustees at Bridgend John Knox. “They provided cooked food for more than 300 families, a total of 75,000 meals.”    
 
Bridgend Farmhouse is one of 241 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups across the UK to receive the prestigious award this year. The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities.
It was created in 2002 to celebrate The Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation."

​On April 23rd Edinburgh City Archives’ Redrawing Edinburgh event was Bridgend Past and Present, where John Nowak, a longstanding local Bridgend Farmhouse volunteer, explored the past and present of Bridgend.
You can see it here or by using this link. https://fb.watch/56xZO4mxxb/