Rame Peninsula volunteers land an award equal to an MBE

More than 7,000 visits in a single year. That is how much use people on the Rame Peninsula made of The Peninsula Trust’s projects last year.

And now the volunteer-led group has been handed The King’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2026. It is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK, and it is equivalent to an MBE.

What The Peninsula Trust does

The Peninsula Trust was set up to empower the Rame Peninsula community to overcome challenges and create positive change. It works with individuals and organisations to deliver community-driven projects.

Those projects include:

• two community hubs
• a food larder
• one-to-one local crisis support
• a community café
• outdoor education and growing for young people
• training and events

Alongside those 7,000-plus visits, the group gets regular feedback from local residents and groups on the difference its work makes to wellbeing in the area.

One of 250 across the UK

The Peninsula Trust is one of 250 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups from across the UK and Channel Islands to receive the award this year.

Recipients are announced every year on 14 November. This year’s list is a varied one. It includes Reuben’s Retreat in Greater Manchester, which supports families after the loss of a child and families of children with shorter life expectancy, a group providing palliative care in Dyfed in Wales, and a group in Perth and Kinross improving wellbeing in a rural community through plant and bake sales.

About the award

The King’s Award for Voluntary Service recognises outstanding work by local volunteer groups to support their communities.

It was created in 2002 to celebrate Her Late Majesty The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and was continued following the accession of His Majesty The King. 2026 is the third year it has been given as The King’s Award.

Crystal, certificate and a trip to the Palace

Representatives of The Peninsula Trust will receive the award crystal and certificate from Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho, Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall, in the coming months. Lord-Lieutenants represent the monarch in each of the UK’s ceremonial counties.

Two of the group’s volunteers will also attend a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in May and June 2027, along with other recipients of this year’s award.

Nominations for the 2027 award are already open. They opened on 1 September 2026, and full details on how to nominate a group are on the award website.

“Something of which we can all be very proud”

The Chair of The Peninsula Trust said: “This reward is acknowledgement of the work undertaken by all Trustees, past and present, the management team, our many volunteers, our members and the support of our very special local community.

“This is something of which we can all be very proud and on behalf of all at TPT I offer heartfelt thanks to all.”