How companies, charitable foundations and philanthropists can help us to make sure that isolation doesn’t have to mean coping alone
Royal Voluntary Service has launched a national emergency appeal to raise £5million to enable us to provide a lifeline to tens of thousands of vulnerable people during this crisis now and in the months to come.
Across Britain people are in personal crisis due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The necessity for the separation this pandemic imposes has caused a fundamental breach in the systems of support on which those people most in need rely. The Coronavirus Pandemic is an unprecedented event in our lifetime, and we are now mobilising volunteers to support Britain as we did during WW2, when we helped communities cope with the hardships of war.
In recent days we have built an army of new volunteers for NHS England – the ‘NHS Volunteer Responders’ – to help fight COVID-19 and protect the 2.5million most vulnerable and at risk. But the group needing support is far wider. In our communities we continue our care for the thousands of vulnerable people we already support across Great Britain, and the large numbers coming to us daily seeking our help. With strict rules now in place to ‘stay at home’, many more are in desperate need, and isolation shouldn’t mean coping alone.
At this crucial time we are adapting our services across England, Scotland and Wales to support those most in need through the acute phase of this epidemic and also in the recovery period afterwards. We will provide companionship calls, help people to access food and essential medication, provide transport to medical appointments and deliver welfare checks.
Our work supports people to stay well at home, enables them to access healthcare and ultimately reduces pressure on the NHS front line. We urgently need funding to support this new way of working and also to help offset daily losses in our regular income.
We have proven through the rapid mobilisation of NHS Volunteer Responders what is possible to achieve. Through this crisis, and in the recovery phase, we want to leverage this to mobilise further volunteering support in a dynamic way into the wider community and through our partnerships with 260 NHS Trusts across Britain.
Companies, grant makers and philanthropists can help us as we step up to meet the challenge our communities face.
...Our partnerships and philanthropy team are on hand to discuss how your support can deliver the biggest impact for vulnerable individuals during this crisis.
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