Stars come out to praise UK’s heroic volunteers
Judi, Elaine and Felicity hail new royal awards
A CAMPAIGN to find Britain’s Coronation Champions has won support from a host of celebrities.
Stars from stage and screen praised the new awards scheme for volunteers after it was launched by the Queen Consort in the Daily Mail on Monday.
The Coronation Champions Awards, organised by the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS), will celebrate unsung heroes who give up their own time to help others.
Celebrities including Dame Judi Dench, Elaine Paige and Felicity Kendal praised volunteers’ ‘invaluable’ efforts to help charities and communities around the UK.
A total of 500 Coronation Champions will be chosen via a UK-wide public nomination process. Each of them will be awarded a specially- designed pin and certificate signed by Camilla.
They will also be given a once-in-a-lifetime invitation, together with a guest, to attend one of the official Coronation celebrations, which include a big-name concert at Windsor Castle.
Dame Judi, an official supporter of the awards, told the Mail: ‘The upcoming Coronation of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen Consort will be a joyous moment in our nation’s history.
‘The Coronation Champions Awards are not only a fitting tribute to Their Majesties’ own public service, but they are also a superb opportunity to pause and show our appreciation for the people who are achieving marvellous things through volunteering.’
The Oscar-winning actress, who met Camilla in 2018 on the Isle of Wight, where they enjoyed an ice cream, added: ‘Throughout my own work with charitable causes,
I have seen how the power of volunteering can be invaluable and far-reaching. Therefore, I do sympathise with the award judges, I predict will have quite a challenge on their hands in identifying Coronation Champions from what will inevitably be some phenomenal nominations.’
Members of the public are now invited to nominate anyone aged over 14 for the awards. Young Coronation Champions Awards will be given to ‘rising stars’ between the ages of 14 and 18.
To recognise volunteers from a wide variety of causes, the RVS is encouraging nominations in eight award categories – supporting older people; supporting young people and children; crisis and welfare; community; sports, culture and heritage; health and care; animal welfare; and sustainability and the environment.
West End musicals star Elaine Paige is urging Mail readers to nominate volunteers, saying she herself was inspired after meeting RVS volunteers, including hospital workers and community heroes.
The singer said: ‘When you meet people who give so much of their own time, they’re very special and they do so much in a very quiet and modest way.
‘They deserve to be celebrated and the awards are a wonderful way to thank people publicly and give them a pat on the back.’ Ms Paige is a long-term supporter and ambassador for the RVS and has joined Camilla at events for the charity, including a visit to a hospital in 2020 to meet volunteers.
The singer revealed she became a ‘telephone befriender’ in lockdown for a pensioner in Scotland as part of a project to combat loneliness. She still regularly calls, adding: ‘Something as simple as a phone call can make a huge difference.’
Ms Paige said: ‘The Queen Consort is a wonderful example of public service and these awards are a chance to celebrate all volunteers who do so much to help other people.’
Actress Felicity Kendal, also an RVS ambassador, said her heart ‘has been warmed time and again by the graciousness of volunteers’ during her time in the role.
‘I’m also especially happy to see an award category for sports, culwho ture and heritage, as the work that volunteers do in these fields is immeasurable,’ she said.
Volunteering will be a key part of the Coronation celebrations, which will see the King crowned alongside the Queen Consort on Saturday, May 6. On Monday, May 8 – a bank holiday – people are being encouraged to take part in The Big Help Out – a day dedicated to volunteering.
The country’s biggest and bestknown charities want it to be a tribute to the King’s lifetime of public service and to create a lasting national legacy from the Coronation weekend.
Television chef and Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain said: ‘Recognising the positive contribution that volunteers have on our society is so important and I can’t wait to hear the lovely stories from volunteers across the UK.’
The nomination process will close on Sunday, April 2.
An expert judging panel of volunteering specialists, charity leaders and academics will choose 500 winners, according to their involvement and impact in volunteering over the last five years.
To nominate a volunteer, see the panel below.
‘A way to show our appreciation’