An official Jubilee project to celebrate volunteers from across the country has seen a junior doctor from University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust named as one of the most outstanding volunteers in the UK.
The Royal Voluntary Service launched the Platinum Champions Awards for volunteers to honour their patron, Her Majesty the Queen, and her 70 years of service.
Thousands of people aged from 16 to 101 from all over the UK and supporting a range of causes were nominated and from these nominations, 490 volunteers were hand-picked by a judging panel.
All Platinum Champions will receive a specially designed pin and a signed certificate from HRH the Duchess of Cornwall. The 70 most outstanding volunteers have also been invited to celebrate at a special edition of The Big Jubilee Lunch in London on the 5 June.
Luke Tester, who works in A&E at The Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, and Princess Royal Hospital, in Haywards Heath, is one of those 70 – and one of only three whose volunteer story was filmed by the BBC and broadcast on The One Show earlier this week.
He has been volunteering since he was 16 years old and now dedicates himself to over 1000 hours of unpaid work a year – on top of long shifts at the hospital.
Luke, who didn’t know anything about the award until the BBC turned up at the Amex Stadium in Brighton when he was volunteering for St John, said: “It was a massive surprise to me. I couldn’t believe it when the One Show turned up. It was the last thing I was expecting but it is great to receive an award.”
Luke, who is 27, added: “I first started volunteering when I was 14 when I was doing my Duke of Edinburgh award.
“I mainly volunteer for a charity called Together Co, based in Brighton, and St John Ambulance. Together Co provides support for people who are suffering loneliness. I am a Trustee for the charity and we had 500 volunteers helping over the last year.
“At the moment with St John I am acting district clinical lead. So I’m responsible for all of our healthcare professionals and the clinical outputs in Sussex and as well as being an operational doctor myself going out to events providing medical cover.”
Over the past year or so Luke has helped Afghanistan refugees arriving in the UK from their war-torn country and also trained fellow volunteers in providing Covid vaccinations.
Luke said: “That’s part of the attraction: the different opportunities volunteering provides. I get responsibilities, development, leadership, opportunities to meet new people, to experience new things, to attend courses that I can’t get elsewhere.
“I’ve been really fortunate to do that over the last decade or so, and now I’m in a position where I’ve developed a skill set and can help others within the charities.
“Volunteering makes me feel like I’m part of my community, that I’m giving back to the community. It’s incredibly satisfying to see a difference being made, to see things getting better. It’s incredibly gratifying to know that so many people working together are part of that.”
Luke added: “I am looking forward to the Big Jubilee lunch: 70 volunteers and their plus ones are going and it’s being hosted by the Duchess of Cornwall, so it should be a really good experience.”