“COVID didn’t bring out the best in Warwickshire, it shone a light on what was already there” - Monica Fogarty Chief Executive of Warwickshire County Council
From the small acts of kindness, such as sending supportive texts to friends and colleagues we know might be struggling; to the heroic efforts of hundreds of people who gave their time voluntarily to support others, the people of Warwickshire have more than stepped up to the mark.
Warwickshire County Council (WCC) too has worked tirelessly to forge new partnerships, help fight the pandemic and keep our residents safe.
In conjunction with partners, we delivered 10.7 million pieces of PPE to key workers and helped to ensure more than 30,000 clinically extremely vulnerable residents stayed safer.
We worked side-by-side with more than 800 volunteers who have done an amazing job carrying out a wide range of tasks - from supporting test centres, to delivering food parcels and prescriptions to those shielding and carrying out befriending calls for clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.
Together we have ensured that 359 patients have been taken safely from hospital to home, more than 3,000 prescriptions have been delivered to vulnerable residents, and more than 12,000 parcels of food and household essentials have been distributed to isolated residents.
The County Council has also supported communities by providing more than 4,500 laptops to help vulnerable children learn, processing and issuing 60,000 food and fuel vouchers and making around 105,000 contacts with vulnerable people over the phone, online and face to face, where needed.
Monica Fogarty, Warwickshire County Council’s Chief Executive said: “We have been committed to supporting Warwickshire communities throughout the pandemic, but as a council, we could not do that alone. Since the start of the pandemic, the public response has been absolutely overwhelming. We have seen communities coming together to support the most vulnerable, check-in on neighbours and support those in need.
“If this year has shown us anything, it’s that we are stronger together.
"Covid didn’t bring out the best in our community, it shone a light on what was already there. Every act of kindness has made a real difference.
"Our greatest achievement this year is how far we have come together and as we learn to live with Covid, our hope for Warwickshire is that the community spirit will remain strong.
“However, our work doesn’t stop here, we will continue to support the most vulnerable, families in need and Warwickshire businesses as we move forward on the roadmap out of lockdown. Thank you to everyone in Warwickshire for every act of kindness along the way. Together we have made a huge difference!”
Why not see the difference our Communities have made:
To find out more about volunteering to support your community visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/information-coronavirus/coronavirus-volunteering
For more information and support for vulnerable residents or for those self-isolating, visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/coronavirusvulnerable