The Jewish Volunteering Network celebrated its Queen's Award for Voluntary Service with a reception at The Grove in Hertfordshire where guests included Watford MP Richard Harrington.

Mr Harrington said his own volunteering began at an early age. Organisations like JVN which connected people with a diversity of charities set the benchmark for volunteer management, he added.

Ros Preston, the JVN president, said that having been involved with the charity since its inception 10 years ago, it had been a privilege to see it develop. She said that in a difficult financial climate, volunteers made an enormous difference to the charity sector.