Alison Semmence, Chief Executive at York CVS and Deputy Chair of the Humber and North Yorkshire VCSE Collaborative, has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for her contribution to the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, and specifically to Social Prescribing.
The King’s New Year Honours List recognises the achievements and services of extraordinary people across the UK, with a specific focus on those who have given with generosity to others in need.
Alison, who has worked in the VCSE sector for almost thirty years, spent ten years spearheading Southend Association of Voluntary Services before joining local VCSE support and development charity York CVS in 2018. During her time at York CVS, Alison has been instrumental in establishing a Volunteer Centre for York, supporting local charitable organisations to thrive, and for contributing to the development of social prescribing services in York.
Social Prescribing, which connects people to non-medical sources of support to improve their health and wellbeing, has thrived in York under Alison’s leadership. In her role as the Humber and North Yorkshire VCSE Collaborative Lead for Social Prescribing, Alison has championed working with the VCSE sector to explore different approaches to improve people’s health and wellbeing to ease pressures on our health and care system. This is reflected in Alison’s leadership in developing the Extra Discharge Support Service for York. The multi-disciplinary VCSE sector team, representing different organisations, developed a coordinated referral pathway to enable more patients to be safely discharged from York Hospital.
As Lead for the Humber and North Yorkshire NHS Integrated Care Board’s (ICB) ‘Volunteers at the Heart of the System’ working group, Alison has been instrumental in generating ambitious plans to increase volunteering across our health and care system. Alison also contributed to securing national funding from the Volunteering for Health Fund to bring these plans to life, and to give young people the opportunity to volunteer in health and care settings across Humber and North Yorkshire.
Speaking about being recognised in the New Year Honours list, Alison commented: “It’s a privilege and an honour to receive this award. It’s completely unexpected and I’m thrilled to accept it on behalf of myself and the many colleagues I’ve worked alongside throughout my career.
“Everything I’ve achieved has been in collaboration with my amazing team, trustees and volunteers; I could not have done it without them.”