Cornwall charity Georgia’s Voice receives The King’s Award

It began with one family’s loss. Now the small Cornish charity built in Georgia Lee Gallaway’s memory holds the highest honour a local voluntary group can receive anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Georgia’s Voice, a Cornwall charity providing mental health support for young women aged 18 to 25, has been given The King’s Award for Voluntary Service 2026.

It is one of 250 recipients of the award this year, drawn from across the UK and the Channel Islands.

📷Sophie Alway, CEO and Founder of Georgia's Voice. Credit: Isabella Banks

“This honour belongs to our wonderful volunteers”

Sophie Alway, CEO and Founder of Georgia’s Voice, said: “Receiving The King’s Award for Voluntary Service is an extraordinary honour, and one we accept with humility and gratitude.

“This honour belongs to our wonderful volunteers, whose compassion, time and commitment make Georgia’s Voice possible, and to the young women across Cornwall whose courage and voices are at the heart of everything we do.

“We are also so grateful to our many supporters, who have believed in us and helped us provide safe, welcoming support so that no young woman has to face mental health challenges alone.

“In Georgia’s memory, this award strengthens our determination to provide easily accessible, free support for every young woman in Cornwall who needs us.”

📷Board of Trustees, Georgia's Voice. Credit: Isabella Banks

A “small-but-mighty” Cornish charity

Television presenter Gillian Burke, an ambassador for Georgia’s Voice, said she was delighted by the news.

“Having worked with numerous charities, large and small, I know this category would have been full of exceptional organisations and individuals making a difference right across the country,” she said.

“I have also seen the incredible dedication of the team at Georgia’s Voice, a very small-but-mighty Cornish charity that was born out of the tragic loss of the beautiful Georgia Lee Gallaway to suicide.

“Georgia’s mother (Founder and Director, Sophie) pours all the love she has for her daughter into this charity, which, together with her brilliant team, offers vital crisis support for young women across Cornwall. The award is very well-deserved recognition of a truly exceptional charity.”

A crystal, a certificate and an invitation to the Palace

Representatives from the charity will be presented with the award crystal and certificate by Colonel Edward Bolitho OBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall, in the coming months. Lord-Lieutenants represent the monarch in each of the UK’s ceremonial counties.

And two of its volunteers will head to Buckingham Palace in 2027 for a Royal Garden Party, alongside other King’s Award recipients.

About The King’s Award for Voluntary Service

The award was set up in 2002 to mark Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee and continues under His Majesty The King. It recognises outstanding volunteer-led work that makes a significant difference to local communities.

Details of this year’s recipients, and of how to nominate a group, are on The King’s Award for Voluntary Service website. Nominations for the 2027 award opened on 1 September 2026.

📷Board of Trustees, Georgia's Voice. Credit: Isabella Banks