Greatly Deserved Award for Cranleigh Arts.
It is always a great pleasure to attend the presentation of a King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) – the highest honour awarded to local voluntary groups in the UK, and to be able to celebrate the extensive work carried out by the volunteers of the recipient group.
Equivalent to an MBE, the KAVS was created in 2002 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. The Awards are awarded for life and are announced on the King’s birthday each year, the 14th November.
Last Friday, the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey – Michael More-Molyneux CVO – presented the prestigious Award to Cranleigh Arts.
Cranleigh Arts was established over 50 years ago and provides a central point in Cranleigh for people to get together and enjoy all kinds of cultural activity. Its founding principle is “to enrich, entertain and inspire”. The facilities available and the range of programming at Cranleigh Arts rivals any art centre in the country. What is different about Cranleigh Arts is that it is run by volunteers with all the funds being raised by volunteers and less than 20% of the centre’s funding is reliant on fundraising. For any arts organisation that is exceptional.
Cranleigh Arts is a very deserving recipient of the KAVS. It has grown out of the community, provides for the community and is run by volunteers from the community.
Photo by Martin Bamford
