Warwickshire County Council is highlighting the contribution that volunteers make in the county and thanking them for all their time and dedication, particularly in supporting Warwickshire’s resp...
Warwickshire County Council is highlighting the contribution that volunteers make in the county and thanking them for all their time and dedication, particularly in supporting Warwickshire’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, during this year’s Volunteers Week (1st – 7th June).
Throughout the week, the County Council will be sharing online and on social media their messages of thanks and stories of the contributions that volunteers make, both in their usual roles with council services and in their efforts to support vulnerable people during Covid-19.
Councils in Warwickshire have been working closely with community and voluntary groups to support people in Warwickshire through the Covid-19 crisis, to provide dedicated support to residents identified as extremely vulnerable and to other people that have also needed extra help.
Warwickshire residents who have found themselves vulnerable and isolated without access to support from family, friends or neighbours as a result of Covid-19 have been offered help through the county’s voluntary groups and growing number of volunteers, in addition to direct help from Warwickshire County Council services.
Just one example is the work that is being done by volunteers, in partnership with Warwickshire County Council and the Warwickshire Local Pharmacy Committee, to help vulnerable residents access medicines while they have been in isolation.
Volunteer community transport schemes have worked closely with local communities and pharmacists to enable them to collect and deliver prescriptions to individuals who have been shielding or self-isolating and unable to go to their pharmacy in person, and who have no one to do this on their behalf.
In April, Warwickshire County Council worked with Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (WCAVA) to create and distribute over 500 special car window stickers that could be displayed by volunteers to show that they were on a mission to help those most in need during the Covid-19 pandemic (full story: http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2020/04/24/badge-of-honour-for-warwickshires-wonderful-volunteers/)
The contribution of volunteers in Warwickshire has also been vital in the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to help protect key workers supporting the county’s most vulnerable people. Individuals and craft groups have come together virtually to create ‘scrub hubs’ making supplies of PPE across the county.
And there are very individual stories of volunteers making a difference too, like that of Nahed, a Syrian woman living with her husband and two children in Rugby who resettled in Warwickshire nearly two years ago after escaping her war-torn country.
There are 35 Syrian families living in Warwickshire who are part of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement programme – many had their homes and livelihoods destroyed in the country that they once called home – and some have found information about the Covid-19 situation difficult to understand.
Support workers from the county council’s Children and Families Service help these families but during the Covid-19 outbreak there has been a need for more Arabic-speaking volunteers to act as a point of contact for families, providing help, advice and information.
Following an appeal, the county council now has several additional volunteers across the county – including Nahed - to help Syrian families understand about the impact of the virus and the Government advice to keep their families safe. You can read Nahed’s story here: http://news.warwickshire.gov.uk/blog/2020/04/15/warwickshire-county-council-and-volunteering-community-come-together-to-support-syrian-refugees/
Many other volunteers have been working from home to help keep ‘normal’ services running during the pandemic.
This week, Warwickshire County Record Office will be sharing some videos of their virtual volunteers that are part of the Warwickshire Bytes project and highlighting WOVEN - The Warwickshire Online Volunteer Network - a new community of volunteers working at home with historic documents to provide information which could previously only be found by visitors to the Record Office.
While many more people have been volunteering to help their communities respond to the consequences of Covid-19, through organised volunteering or by stepping up informally to support their community, for other people it’s been a challenging time as they have been unable to volunteer in their much-loved roles.
Warwickshire Libraries will be celebrating what volunteers do in ‘normal’ circumstances and sending out the message that they look forward to seeing them again in the future. Volunteers normally undertake such roles as supporting events in libraries (for example Rhyme Time sessions and games sessions for older people), Silver Surfer sessions, the Home Delivery Service and local studies indexing projects.
They’ll be posting a special blog about the role of volunteers in their Home Delivery Service and looking at what one of their volunteers is up to as part of the Covid-19 response.
Today (Monday 1st June), Warwickshire County Council Chief Executive, Monica Fogarty, has posted a ‘Wave For Volunteers’ and personal message of thanks on social media, highlighting that they are ‘never more needed’ – one of the themes of this year’s national Volunteer Week.
Monica says: "I'd like to say a massive thank you to all our wonderful volunteers in Warwickshire.
“I'd particularly like to shine a light on all the support that volunteers have provided in our response to Covid-19.
"You are 'never more needed' as we work together to prepare for the future. Thank you."
Councillor Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, has echoed that sentiment, saying:
“The quality of life in Warwickshire has always been greatly enhanced by the contribution of volunteers, but particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, where their support for vulnerable people living in our communities has been incredible.
"By supporting people's health and wellbeing and making our communities better and stronger, volunteers make a huge contribution to our county.
“I would like to thank all volunteers in Warwickshire for everything they have done and continue to do as we look to the future.”
The County Council is encouraging residents to post their own ‘Wave For Volunteers’ in Warwickshire on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, using the hashtags #WaveForVolunteers and #BestWarwickshire.
Follow Warwickshire County Council’s social media channels, including @warwickshire_cc on Twitter and www.facebook.com/WarwickshireCountyCouncil throughout Volunteers Week 2020 to find out more about the contribution of volunteers in the county as we say ‘thank you’.