Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers

The Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers (French: Médaille du souverain pour les bénévoles) is a Canadian medal intended to honour volunteers who have made a significant and continual contribution to their community, either in Canada or abroad. The medal was initially conceived by Governor General Roméo LeBlanc as the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award and created in November 1995, to award volunteers. It was replaced on 15 July 2015 by the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers.

A series of Canadian miniature medals including the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers (centre), court mounted. The other insignias are those of a Serving Member of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (left), and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (right).

Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers
Type	Medal (national)
Presented by	The monarch of Canada
Status	Currently Awarded
Established	Governor General's Caring Canadian Award: November 1995 Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers: 15 July 2015
First award	Governor General's Caring Canadian Award: 1995
Ribbon of the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers
Precedence
Next (higher)	Polar Medal[1]
Next (lower)	Canadian Centennial Medal

Eligibility and selection

The medal is intended for an individual whose unpaid, voluntary contributions, behind-the-scenes, provide extraordinary help or care to individuals or groups in the community.^[2] Nominees must have brought honour to Canada through their work, and may belong to any age group; recipients typically have not previously been recognized by a national honour.

An independent advisory committee meets to review submissions. Once a nomination for a candidate is received, research is undertaken to confirm facts and a summary of information about each candidate is presented to the advisory committee for review. The committee submits recommendations to the governor general.

The certificate and lapel pin are presented to recipients by a dignitary, such as a lieutenant governor, territorial commissioner, mayor, or the executive head of a non-profit organization. On rare occasions, the governor general presents the medal during regional visits.

All previous recipients of the Caring Canadian Award received the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers.^[3]

See also

• List of awards presented by the governor general of Canada
• Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship
• Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal
• British Columbia Medal of Good Citizenship