A SALISBURY NHS volunteer has won a Coronation Champion Award, and attended the Coronation Concert at the weekend. 

Juliet Mosney first began volunteering when she was still a student at Blandford Upper School in Blandford Forum, where she would help younger years with after-sports clubs.

She would also regularly visit an elderly lady at a nursing home and won an award from the Lions Club for her volunteer work.

Juliet answered the call at the beginning of the pandemic when Matt Hancock, MP asked for an “army of volunteers” to support their communities.

She signed up with the NHS Volunteer Responder Scheme, where she would help people categorised as vulnerable to covid with shopping and collecting prescriptions when they were unable to leave home for fear of the virus.

For all of her work, including her leadership online as the moderator of a large unofficial Facebook group of volunteer responders, and later serving on the Volunteer Representative Advisory Board, the NHS Volunteer Responder programme nominated Juliet for a Coronation Champion Award.

Juliet said: “I rather underwhelmingly discovered I was a winner when I stumbled across an email in my junk folder.”

Despite her surprise, Juliet couldn’t tell anyone at first about her reception of the award.

She said: “I had to keep it secret for a few days until the big social media launch, and you can then be assured that I shared my joyful news with anyone that would listen.”

Juliet was also invited to attend the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle on Sunday, May 7, where she said she was struck at the level of care the King shows for people.

Juliet said: “I was most struck by the strong theme running through the concert of a King who has already given so much and who is so talented.  He is a kind, compassionate King.”

Juliet said she has no plans to end her volunteer activities any time soon. She also does volunteer work supporting the Salisbury homeless charity Encircles and Horatio’s Garden.

Juliet said: “I have my own health issues, which is why I am no longer able to teach, but I have many transferable skills which can be used to support others. 

"Volunteering was very much key to the whole Coronation weekend of celebrations and I will continue to do my bit to serve my community and those in need.”