Melton man 'humbled' to be chosen as Coronation Champion for his charity work

Bob White helped found Melton Prostate Cancer Support Group seven years ago after winning his own battle with the disease and he also volunteers with PROSTaid, which promotes awareness and offers support to men across Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire.

And his efforts have seen him chosen as a Coronation Champion through an awards scheme run by Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort, in conjunction with Royal Voluntary Service, as part of the official celebrations.

The 500 recipients, aged 14 to 103, were chosen from 5,000 nominations.

Reflecting on his award, Bob said: “This award has taken me completely by surprise and I feel both humbled and pleased to have even been nominated.

"It is a great honour to have received it but I do feel that I am only one person involved in the fight against prostate cancer locally, and there are also many other deserving individuals doing the same throughout the country.”

Bob impressed the judges with how he responded to his own fight against prostate cancer 12 years ago by helping form the support group in Melton Mowbray five years later with fellow sufferer, John Bailey, in order to help and support other men diagnosed with the disease. Bob runs it with wife Jane.

This is a purely voluntary role and he dedicates a lot of his free time to organising monthly meetings with guest speakers, liaising with oncologists, urologists, and prostate cancer nurses from the Leicestershire hospitals, as well as supporting individuals through their own cancer journey.

He also holds numerous street stalls in the local community and beyond in order to promote awareness and information about prostate cancer in men, and gives talks to various local groups.

Bob is also involved in a national panel alongside the NHS as a patient advocate in order to improve outcomes for sufferers of all types of cancers.

Nominations were made across eight award categories; supporting older people; supporting young people and children; crisis and welfare; community; sports, culture, and heritage; health and care; sustainability and the environment; and animal welfare.

Catherine Johnstone CBE, chief executive of Royal Voluntary Service, said: “We were completely blown away by the response to the Community Champions Awards and the huge volume of amazing nominees put forward.

"Our judges had a tough job selecting just 500 Champions from an array of thousands of inspirational individuals, who all deserve to be recognised and commended.

“Each of our Coronation Champions displayed a commitment and contribution that far exceeds any expectation and we’re overjoyed to honour and thank them during this exciting point in history.”

Bob has been invited to attend one of the official Coronation celebratory events through being one of the champions and he received a specially designed, official pin and a certificate signed by Their Majesties.

The Coronation Champions Awards invited people across the UK to nominate their local volunteering heroes who are going the extra mile.

Nominations were made across eight award categories; supporting older people; supporting young people and children; crisis and welfare; community; sports, culture, and heritage; health and care; sustainability and the environment; and animal welfare.