BLOT has just received the highest award given to local voluntary groups in the UK.
Bugle Library of Things (BLOT) has been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service 2026, the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary groups.
The award recognises the outstanding contribution made by BLOT’s volunteers, whose time, commitment and local knowledge have helped turn a grassroots community project into an organisation supporting more than 1,600 people over the last 12 months.
From its distinctive bright green Community Hub in the heart of Bugle, BLOT provides a welcoming space where people can access food and everyday essentials, digital and practical support, community activities, and help navigating services. Working alongside local partners, BLOT connects people with the advice, resources and opportunities they need, while helping tackle poverty, isolation and barriers to accessing support.
Increasingly, that support is also being taken directly to communities through BLOT’s Mobile Hub – a purpose-built “village hall on wheels” which enables BLOT and partner organisations to reach people in places where transport, isolation and a lack of local services can otherwise make support difficult to access.
Together, BLOT’s permanent and mobile hubs are designed around a simple principle: bringing useful resources, opportunities, organisations and people together in places where they can make the greatest difference.
Over the last year alone, BLOT’s volunteers have contributed more than 2,600 hours to their communities. The organisation now opens its Bugle Hub around 200 days each year, delivers around 150 Mobile Hub sessions annually, and has distributed the equivalent of more than 107,000 meals since 2020.
The award comes at an important point in BLOT’s development. While remaining firmly rooted in Bugle and Cornwall’s Clay Country, the organisation is strengthening its partnerships and expanding its Mobile Hub programme, bringing community, voluntary, health and other services closer to people who may otherwise struggle to access them.
A community organisation that began in Bugle and has grown to support people across Cornwall has received the highest award given to local voluntary groups in the UK.
BLOT is one of 250 local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups across the UK receiving The King’s Award for Voluntary Service this year.
The Award was created in 2002 to celebrate Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee and has continued following the accession of His Majesty The King. It recognises outstanding work by volunteer-led groups making a difference within their local communities.
Representatives of BLOT will receive a crystal award and certificate from Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho KCVO OBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Cornwall, in the coming months. Two team members will also be invited to attend a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in 2027 alongside representatives of other groups receiving the Award.
For BLOT, the recognition is both a celebration of what local volunteers have already achieved and a marker of the organisation’s next chapter – continuing its mission of Bringing Lives and Opportunities Together.
Practical Support | Trusted Relationships | Stronger Communities
“This award belongs to our volunteers. BLOT exists because local people saw things that needed to change and decided to do something about them. What started in Bugle has grown enormously, but that same community spirit still sits at the heart of everything we do.”
Jo Rusbridge, Founder of BLOT
What it means to us.
Our volunteers have given thousands of hours, whether that has meant collecting and sorting food, keeping our Hub running, supporting people who walk through the door, helping at community events or taking our services out on the road. They have helped us build something that people know they can turn to and trust.
We are especially thinking today of Susan Birchall, one of our longest-standing supporters, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Susan was part of the story that brought us here, and it feels right that we remember her as we celebrate this recognition.
The King’s Award is an incredible honour, but for us it is also encouragement to keep going. We have ambitious plans for the years ahead – reaching more communities, creating stronger partnerships and making it easier for people to access practical support and opportunities close to home. We couldn’t have reached this point without our volunteers, and we are enormously proud of every one of them.
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