Several charities from across Cumbria have been given the highest honour possible from King Charles for their work.
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service is the equivalent to an MBE and across the country, 262 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups have this year received the prestigious award.
The successful organisations will receive a certificate signed by the King and a glass crystal which will be presented by the Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria, Alexander Scott.
Cumbrian charities and organisations which have won the award this year are:
- BEEP Doctors
- The Cumbria Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs
- Kirkgate Arts and Heritage, Cockermouth
- Maryport Inshore Rescue
- Maryport Solway Sea Cadets
- Self-harm Awareness For All, Barrow
- Susan’s Farm, Carlisle
Two volunteers from each group will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in 2024, along with other recipients of this year’s award.
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service is an annual award made to recognise and reward the most exceptional and innovative groups who provide voluntary-led activities in the community.
Maryport and Solway Sea Cadets unit management team chair Mark Dawson said: “I am excited and honoured that the unit’s work has been recognised via this most prestigious award.
“It is also a reward for the effort and support the entire community has given to the unit over many years, that have helped ensure our young people have the right resources and equipment to thrive. I also pay tribute to the dedicated hard work and commitment of our adult volunteers, who create the environment for cadets to enjoy learning and developing skills whilst enjoying themselves.
The cadets’ commanding officer, Lieutenant Claire Bostel added: “I am especially pleased for all of the current and former cadets, they should feel rightly proud that their contribution to the Unit and to the community has been recognised by the King.”
Kirkgate general manager Emma Heys said: “This is a great achievement. We are thrilled that our volunteers’ achievements have been recognised.”
Rob Higgins, chair of the Kirkgate’s board of trustees, added: “We are absolutely delighted, on behalf of our volunteers, to have received this award.
“We were selected from the Cumbrian nominees to go forward to the national stage so to be included as one of the award winners across the country is a phenomenal achievement.
“The award is for outstanding achievement by groups of volunteers and we’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks and congratulations to all of our volunteers who play such a crucial role in the life of the Kirkgate.”
It is a highly competitive and prestigious award and only about half of the nominations can expect to succeed. The launch of the award was announced in 2002 as part of the celebrations for The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and was first known as The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award.
Any group of three or more people delivering outstanding voluntary work can be nominated for the award. The group must be volunteer-led and the majority of the group must be volunteers. More than half the volunteers must have the right to live in the UK. The groups should also have been operating for three or more years to be eligible.
Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria Alexander Scott said: “I am thrilled that so many in Cumbria have achieved this exceptional national recognition. I would like to thank those recognised for their tireless work and commitment to the communities they serve. I warmly congratulate them. They are all thoroughly deserving of this singular recognition.”
“I am also immensely grateful to the many other voluntary groups across Cumbria doing excellent, innovative work, enhancing the lives and experiences of many in their local communities. I hope that this will prompt more nominations for next year’s round of awards.”
Dr Theo Weston MBE, the chair and founder of BEEP Doctors, said the team were immensely proud to receive their award.
He added: “This is a massive honour and we are immensely proud to have been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. In my view it is by far and away the best thing to have happened to the BEEP Doctors charity in our near 30-year history.
“We don’t do this work to receive these honours. We do what we do to help people who are sick and injured at the roadside and the reward for us is seeing people survive where they would otherwise not have or survive in a better condition, but it is absolutely fantastic that the work we do has been recognised in this way.”
