Ealing Repair Café, a group of volunteers based in Ealing have been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2025. They encourage and run sessions on clothes and textiles mending to inspire and encourage people to get the most out of their clothes.
Ealing Repair Cafe started in spring 2019 and run regular friendly gatherings around Ealing, where they bring examples, give suggestions and instruction. On their website they have free online mending guides and upcycling projects. They run workshops creating and teaching upcycling textiles projects. You can make something useful out of otherwise unwanted fabrics, (e.g. draught excluders, t-shirt bags). They partner with Ealing Goodgym also to make upcycled items. These items are donated to local groups such as food banks, churches and Age UK Ealing.
Find out about their next sessions on their Whats on page. So pop along and get mending.
Ealing Repair Café is part of the Ealing Transition initiative, part of the Transition town movement. The Transition town movement focuses on re-inventing the way we use and produce energy. This includes the way we source our food, our clothes, design our buildings, generate power and much more.
Kings Award for Voluntary Service 2025
This Kings Award for Voluntary Service (KAVs) is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK. It is equivalent to an MBE.
In Ealing, this year (2025), 2 organisations were awarded, Ealing Repair Café and Polish YMCA Section in Great Britain. The Polish YMCA organisation has served as a cultural, educational and social hub for London’s Polish community for more than seventy years. Much of its activity delivered by their volunteers. Throughout the UK, 231 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups also received this prestigious award in 2025. Their work reminds us of all the ways fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities. Plus 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 support their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate Her Late Majesty The Queen’s Golden Jubilee and was continued following the accession of His Majesty The King. 2025 marks the third year of The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. The announcement of the awards is annually on 14th November, The King’s Birthday. Full details on how to nominate are available at
Nominations for the 2026 award. They opened nominations on the 1st September 2025.
Mary Horesh said: “We’re proud to be recognised for the incredible efforts of our volunteers—supporting local communities in extending the life of garments, preventing items from ending up in landfill, and creating a welcoming space that participants say enhances their social and mental well-being.”
Find out more how to mend your clothes, go to Ealing Repair Cafe guides, sign up for their emails and pop along to one of their sessions.
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