Surprisingly, the Helpline phone remained silent today, which is unusual for a Friday. Even more so, because they calls had been relatively steady this week. However, the active volunteers and I remain poised to respond to assist anyone who may need our help.
Publicity
It has been a good week for the Group with regards to publicity with articles in the LRF Communities and Volunteers Newsletter as well as the latest edition of the Sheepwash Times.
Finally, Lincoln 2 – Liverpool 7. Despite the score, a gallant and very spirited performance by a young and new team, who show great promise for hopefully a very successful season.
Take care, Stay Safe and have a good weekend.
Thank you for your continuing support – Andy
Extract from the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum – Communities and Volunteers Newsletter
Branston Parish Council COVID-19 Support Group update
Branston Parish Council COVID-19 Support Group remains operational and continues to provide valuable and much needed support to vulnerable residents.
Primarily the requests, of which now over 1000 have been successfully responded to, are for prescription collections, shopping trips, hospital escorts and for welfare purposes.
However, hundreds of other tasks have been completed, covering a wide and diverse range of activities, all of which have been very gratefully received. The Branston All Saints Covid-19 food bank is still open and remains an important asset for the provision of food boxes for anyone in need.
Although a number of volunteers have returned to work, the ability of the group to respond to requests remains as effective now as it did 6 months ago.
Statistically, the group Helpline receives on average, 6 requests a day or 41 per week. The group continues to serve the community very effectively.
This service and the new found community spirit, brought about from the pandemic, has highlighted that the village would greatly benefit from a community group to act as a focal point for information regarding all welfare assistance services, social and sporting activities.
As a legacy, a Branston Community Group that will be very closely aligned with a Branston Good Neighbour Scheme and existing Branston Emergency Planning Group, will be formed under the mantle of Project JANUS.
In summary, this will ensure that the capability to provide resilience, safety, protection and welfare services to all Branston residents exists for now and for the future.
Finally, all of the volunteers have performed fantastically and the support from residents in the form of cash, food and face mask donations and following organisations has been totally invaluable, in no particular order:
Co-op Head Office, Branston Co-op Food Store, Branston Co-op Pharmacy, Branston Surgery, FareShare (Hull and Humber), Morrison’s Supermarkets, Branston All Saints Group, YMCA Lincs, Community Lincs, NKDC, Branston Parish Council, Well-being, LRF and LCC County Emergency Centre.