Pictured with his wife Celia, Robert Voss CBE CStJ is Patron of the YOPEY charity.
The first set of letters after his name stand for Commander of the most excellent order of the British Empire. He was made a CBE in 2014 in the New Year Honours for his ‘Contribution to British Industry and voluntary work in the UK’.
The second set of letters stand for Commander in the Order of St John (CStJ). In 2020, The Queen sanctioned Robert to be honoured with this second title.
Robert first became involved in YOPEY’s work when he attended the Young People of the Year awards in Hertfordshire in 2015 when, as a Deputy Lieutenant, he represented the Lord Lieutenant in the judging of the awards and presented several of the prizes.
He became a Trustee of YOPEY in 2016 but in 2017 he stepped down from the charity’s board when he was invited by the Queen to become the new Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire.
Not wanting to lose his skills from 40 years in business and working with many other charities and community groups, YOPEY made him a Patron. Robert takes up the story of his involvement:
“When I first met Tony Gearing and the amazing young people involved in the Young People of the Year Awards I was very keen to somehow become involved. I met a number of young people who had given so much to the community already in their lives and these were the people who would certainly go on to be pillars of their communities.
“When YOPEY Befriender was started by Tony, I was again keen to be involved and I join some of the students visiting care homes around Hertfordshire. The induction they were given into dementia was invaluable to me as well as the young people to understand the way in which dementia effects the mind and memory. Then to join the students in meeting a number of care home residents was very special and the way that the young people interacted with the residents was inspirational.
“I am very proud to be involved in some small way with YOPEY and to meet so many young people who are showing their concern for others in such a tangible way.”
