Deepak 's Royal recognition for 20 years of charity work
Chamber House-based Deepak Pathak has been given Royal recognition for years of selfless charity work - by being named one of just 500 Coronation Champions nationwide.
Deepak, Innovate UK EDGE senior innovation and growth specialist, is among the select 500 chosen as a Queen 's Consort Coronation Champion as part of the national celebrations surrounding King Charles 111 's accession to the throne.
Deepak says he was “surprised and delighted ” to be selected for the honour, which will see 500 out of 5,000 nominees nationwide become official Coronation Champions for dedication to voluntary work.
The once in a lifetime honour will see Deepak take his place among the guests at the special Windsor Castle concert on Sunday May 7 featuring the likes of Katy Perry, Take That, Lionel Ritchie, Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel and others,
Deepak was chosen for the one-off Royal tribute in recognition of his years of work as Global Lead with the Sewa Day charity, which he launched 20 years ago whilst as university and has since developed into an international aid organisation entirely run by volunteers.
The charity 's work was particularly prominent during the Covid crisis, delivering millions of meals, providing supplies to food banks and hospitals and organising the shipment of thousands of items of PPE.
Deepak said: “I feel very humbled that I have been chosen. It was a real surprise, I was not expecting it. I am very much looking forward to going to Windsor Castle for the Coronation concert.
“I started the charity 20 years ago when I was at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. It is all about giving and was originally based on a day to inspire people to give,
“We later changed it to four times a year. It developed over the years and during Covid I was managing 4,500 volunteers in 42 towns and cities. We supplied 80 foodbanks across the UK and provided 40 hospitals with PPE for free. We got craft groups of mainly elderly people to knit items of clothing, including items for hospital baby wards and scarves, gloves and hats for the homeless and vulnerable elderly.
“I worked with international agencies and we sent eight container loads of PPE overseas to countries including Guyana, Kenya, Colombia and others. We ran the charity every day during Covid and it hasn 't stopped since. ”
The Covid campaign was launched as a Help A Neighbour initiative in March 2020 and produced an 'incredible ' response on social media, according to Deepak. The charity 's work had even caught the attention of Sarah, Duchess of York, who has twice donated truckloads of food.
Sewa Day was originally founded on the Hindu principle of giving without expecting reward, with a lot of its work often taking place in the background without publicity. The name Sewa is a Sanskrit word embedded in the traditions of ancient India.