Care after Combat, an Armed Forces Charity based in Newark, Nottinghamshire, has been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
Care after Combat, formed in 2014, supports veterans in the Justice System through a range of support mechanisms. These include one-to-one mentorship from Volunteer Mentors, helping veterans in custody to rehabilitate and prepare for reintegration into society following a custodial sentence.
Care after Combat is one of 262 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. Their work, along with others from across the UK, reminds us of all the ways fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them.
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to benefit their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee and, following his accession, His Majesty The King emphasised his desire to continue the Award. Recipients are announced annually on 14th November, The King’s Birthday. Award winners this year are wonderfully diverse and include volunteer groups from across the UK, such as a social support network for disabled adults in Banffshire; a charity using a refurbished pool as a community hub in south Wales; volunteer doctors providing pre-hospital care across rural Cumbria and a village renewal organisation promoting sustainability, equality and social inclusion in County Antrim.
Volunteers and staff of Care after Combat will receive the award crystal and certificate from Sir John Peace, Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire this winter. In addition, two representatives from Care after Combat will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in early summer 2024, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
Adrian Kirk, CEO of Care after Combat, says:
“This award is a truly prestigious honour that the whole team of staff and volunteers at Care after Combat are thrilled and proud to receive. The recognition this brings to our volunteers, be they Mentors, Ambassadors or Trustees, and the outstanding contribution they make to our charity, is wholly deserved and most fitting. Without the altruistic dedication of our volunteers to supporting our deserving veterans, many of those we assist would go without the help and encouragement they so desperately need. Care after Combat has delivered life-changing and, occasionally, life-saving support to some of our most vulnerable veterans in society. None of this could be achieved without our critical volunteer cohort. And so, today, we celebrate their significant and selfless contribution, alongside the incredible hard work and dedication of a small team of staff, reflected in the highest order with the King’s Award for Voluntary Service.”
