Volunteers across the South honoured with King’s Award

An inclusive football club and the team behind a community festival are among the groups to be given an award by the King.

Volunteers across the South of England join 232 awardees nationwide that have been honoured with a King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The highest UK accolade for local volunteer groups recognises exceptional contributions to communities.

Each winner will receive a crystal award and certificate in March, and representatives will attend a Buckingham Palace garden party in 2026.

Bringing the community together, offering support and meeting their ever-changing needs, is what the Pop in Place in Bere Regis says it does.

The Dorset based group had a special morning to celebrate volunteering and announced to its members that it had received the award.

“They were absolutely delighted,” said Alison Bennett, the team leader, who has been running the group for 30 years.

She said they all expressed how “proud” they felt of the achievement.

“It’s really lovely that our volunteers have been recognised, if it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be able to do what we do,” she said.

A group in Reading which supports people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and their families is another of those groups recognised.

Berkshire MS Therapy Centre acts as a community hub and offers physiotherapy, oxygen therapy, counselling, footcare, and complementary therapies like yoga and massage.

Formed in 1985, and based at Bradbury House, it has supported more than 300 local people with the condition.

Berkshire MS Therapy Centre Chairman, Neil Dawkins said: “We are delighted that the hard work of our volunteers has been recognised, and this award is a real testament to the remarkable job our volunteers do.”

Centre Manager, Pippa Vincent-Cooke said: “Our centre would not run without our volunteers and I am very proud to work alongside them.”

An annual free-access music, dance and arts festival based in Wallingford, South Oxfordshire has been given the award, which is equivalent to an MBE for volunteer groups.

BunkFest started from small beginnings in 2002 and has grown incrementally each year to become one of the UK’s largest free access festivals.

More than 600 volunteers, drawn mainly from the local community, work to make the event a success.

The directors of BunkFest said: “We are delighted to receive this award, which we dedicate to the energy, hard work and commitment of the countless number of volunteers who over the years who have helped us put on this amazing community festival.”

An inclusive football club has been honoured in Hampshire for its mission to make the beautiful game accessible to all – regardless of financial circumstances.

Since 2015, Berewood Panthers Youth FC, has been supporting players from three years old through to under-16s.

As well as keeping costs low for parents and carers, it also runs a free pan-disability programme to ensure everyone has the opportunity to play football.