Alfred Oyekoya has described his honour at being invited to Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Garden party.
One of the ways the Queen celebrates the good work people do in their communities is by hosting huge, colourful Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace in London. Guests dress up in their finest outfits and enjoy walking around the gardens as they listen to brass bands, drink tea, and eat cakes, tarts, and sandwiches. Members of the Royal Family speak to as many people as possible.
This year, Alfred Oyekoya, who leads BMHS, an award- winning Community Interest Company has been invited to meet the Queen at one of her annual Garden Parties in recognition of his services to community.
Alfred has devoted himself to the organisation accruing more than 60+ hours a week. His volunteering includes being at the center, collecting parcels, delivering parcels to those in need in the community, and coordinating volunteers. Alfred provides essential food and personal care packages to vulnerable individuals and families in need over the last few years and throughout the Corona Virus pandemic.
He has sacrificed himself and put himself at risk to enable people to have the essentials to survive throughout this difficult time, he does this with care and compassion. He has journeyed several times across Wales to support new arrivals. He consistently organized series of health awareness sessions to address health inequalities in the community.
Alfred is completely selfless and driven only by his desire to support those in need and goes out of his way to help anyone who contacts him, without judgment. Other achievements include raising the profile of the Mental Health Act 1983 Reformation and contributing to the overall aims and objectives of the Race Equality Action Plan. The organization has been mentioned on the BBC, Wales Online, The National, ITV News amongst others.
Alfred said, "It’s really an absolute honour and privilege to be included in a select few individuals who ever get to meet the queen in their lifetimes…A highly proud moment for me, my family, and over fifty active volunteers of BMHS...We have won several awards over the years, but this literally is the icing on the cake as we say.”
The Queen's Garden Parties began in the 1860s and are a way of recognising public service. British Citizens are selected to attend by their Lord Lietunet, who is the monarch’s representative in each county. The lucky recipients of these highly coveted invites are selected to ‘recognise and reward’ public service.
The Royal family will arrive as a military band play God Save The Queen. After this, the royals will disperse amongst the crowd to greet guests on their way to the royal tent. It is estimated by the end of each lavish spring afternoon affair, 27,000 cups of tea, and 20,000 finger sandwiches and equal amounts of cake have been enjoyed.
Congratulations to Alfred, our director, on this wonderful moment of recognition for your work in inspiring a mentally healthy community for all.
