The King’s Award for Voluntary Service
The King's Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work done in their own communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of The Queen's coronation (the award’s name changed following the death of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022). Any group doing volunteer work that provides a social, economic or environmental service to the local community can be nominated for the award. Each group is assessed on the benefit it brings to the local community and its standing within that community.
231 voluntary groups were awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2025; Oxfordshire’s winners were:
Bunkfest which provides a free, access-for-all, annual music festival in Wallingford entirely run by volunteers. The Lord-Lieutenant will present the award in Wallingford at Bunkfest 2026.
Volunteer Link Up (West Oxfordshire) which supports people of any age and ability, but mainly older residents, in West Oxfordshire. The Lord-Lieutenant was delighted to present the award in Witney in March 2026.
Making a Nomination for an Oxfordshire voluntary group
There is a lengthy nominations process which culminates in the announcement of winning voluntary groups in November each year.
The award was created to celebrate groups that are truly outstanding and make a big difference to their local communities, where volunteers rather than paid staff are in the driving seat and which have the highest standards in everything they do. We have many such groups in Oxfordshire!
Nominations need to be made by someone independent of the group through an on-line form. There is detailed information on the KAVS website about eligibility and the nomination process. Locally, advice and support to make nominations is available from the Oxfordshire Lieutenancy’s lead, Philip Sharman DL. Please do get in touch to discuss any ideas you may have for nominations or if you have any questions.