A Harrogate-based charity supporting women and children affected by domestic abuse has received one of the highest honours a voluntary organisation can achieve in the UK.
New Beginnings Peer Support has been named among the recipients of The King's Award for Voluntary Service 2026, an honour equivalent to an MBE.
The award recognises outstanding work by local volunteer groups and celebrates the difference they make to their communities.
New Beginnings Peer Support provides support for women and their children following separation from an abusive relationship, helping them rebuild their lives and overcome the ongoing impact of domestic abuse.
The volunteer-led organisation offers a range of services, including weekly one-to-one check-in calls, peer-led support groups and outreach work to raise awareness of domestic abuse.
Many of its volunteers have experienced domestic abuse themselves, with several having first accessed the charity's services as clients before going on to support others.
Volunteers also play an important role behind the scenes, helping with governance, accountancy and other essential work.
New Beginnings Peer Support is one of 250 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups across the UK to receive the prestigious award this year.
The charity's representatives will receive a crystal award and certificate from Johanna Ropner, Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, in the coming months.
Two of its volunteers will also be invited to attend a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in May or June 2027, alongside representatives of other winning organisations.
Lindsay Oliver, Co-Founder of New Beginnings Peer Support, said:
"It's such an incredible acknowledgement."
"It's literally the biggest thank you we could give our volunteers and that recognition for them that we couldn't run and couldn't deliver the amount of variation in service we deliver if it wasn't for them."
"There's a large portion of our volunteers who are women that have themselves been through domestic abuse and come out the other side of it and are now supporting others to do exactly the same. That in itself, for them to see that what they're achieving in their own personal life and how they're now supporting others, it really is the best we could have hoped for."
The King's Award for Voluntary Service was established in 2002 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and continued following the accession of King Charles III.
It is the highest award given to local voluntary groups in the UK, recognising organisations whose work has made a significant difference to the lives of others.
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