Royal honour for outstanding volunteer work

16/09/2004

A leading North East businessman has received recognition from HRH The Prince of Wales.

John Mowbray, Northumbrian Water’s Head of Communications, was presented with the HRH The Prince of Wales Award for Outstanding Voluntary Contribution to WaterAid.

WaterAid is the UK’s only major charity dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe domestic water, sanitation and hygience education to the world’s poorest people.

Rt Hon Baroness Lynda Chalker of Wallasey, WaterAid Vice President,
presented the award on behalf of the President HRH The Prince of Wales.

John, from Sunderland, has been Chair of the regional WaterAid committee in the North East since 1997.  WaterAid is the adopted charity of Northumbrian Water and in 2003 it celebrated raising £1million in the region since 1996. 

The royal citation commended John for leading a team of volunteers in the region and being pivotal in promoting the value and work of WaterAid within his company and across a wider audience of opinion formers, policy makers and the general public throughout the region.

John said: “I feel very honoured to receive this award from HRH the Prince of Wales. I have a fantastic group of volunteers who assist our fundraising efforts and I think the award recognises this as well as the amazing support that we receive from many people across the North East, who appreciate that WaterAid does change lives.”

A child dies every 15 seconds in the developing world because of disease caused by dirty drinking water and poor sanitation.
2.2 million people in developing countries, most of them children, die every year from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.
£10 donated to WaterAid will provide a clean water supply for life for someone in the developing world.

For further information contact: Alistair Baker, Communications Manager, Northumbrian Water 0191 301 6851.