We're proud to announce that the Rising Sun Arts Centre has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.

This is the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK, the equivalent of an MBE. We were nominated for the award by then-Mayor of Reading, Councillor Sarah Hacker, and we're extremely grateful.

We're one of 193 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of awards given to groups this year is slightly higher than last year, showing that the voluntary sector is thriving and full of innovative ideas to tackle community challenges.

Larry Watson and Sarah Millar from the centre attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 24th May 2016, where they met the other winners of this year’s award. We'll receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire later this summer.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Committee Chair, former broadcast journalist Sir Martyn Lewis said:

“I warmly congratulate all of the inspirational voluntary groups who have been rewarded for their community work with a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The judging panel for this year’s awards were struck by the quality and breadth of all the successful groups.
The thousands of volunteers who give up spare time to help others in their community and to help solve problems demonstrate the very best of democracy in action.”

Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson, said:

“I would like to congratulate all groups who received this year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, in recognition of their fantastic achievements. The huge amount of work and commitment these organisations put into their local communities is surpassed only by the passion and motivation of the individuals who volunteer. I hope these groups continue to inspire others to get involved and make a positive impact so that we can continue to build a more compassionate society.”

Larry Watson, said:

“On behalf of all the volunteers here, I’m both honoured and humbled that the centre has received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. It’s seems particularly touching to be honoured in this, our 25th anniversary year, and this award is a testimony to the hard work our volunteers put in all year, every year, to create a truly unique arts space and programme for our community. We’re all extremely grateful to Councillor Sarah Hacker for nominating us, and we hope this award will encourage others in Reading and beyond to get involved with a cause that means something to them.”

If you’d like to be part of this amazing – and now award winning -  team of volunteers, pop round or drop us a line.  We're always looking for new faces to join us.