Companies, charitable foundations and philanthropists

Stand with us to support vulnerable people throughout the crisis and as our NHS and communities recover

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. 

In March 2020 we rapidly adapted our regular services across England, Scotland and Wales to ensure we could continue to help vulnerable people who need our support, whilst keeping them and our staff and volunteer teams safe. In the face of huge need, we could not stand our services down. Instead, we have adapted our delivery to:

• Meet people’s immediate welfare needs – we’ve delivered thousands of grocery and prescription drops to those in need and made sure that vulnerable patients could continue to access lifesaving medical treatments, such as dialysis and radiotherapy, through our transport schemes.
• Support people’s emotional and physical wellbeing – our teams are making hundreds of thousands of welfare and companionship calls to check that vulnerable people are safe and provide them with much needed social contact. Peer support calls have been set up for carers struggling with the additional pressures the coronavirus has brought to their lives, with reminiscence packs sent to support people living with dementia.  We’ve also welcomed thousands of people to our new Virtual Village Hall, where a huge range of activities and classes help to keep minds and bodies active.

Our new ways of working have made a real difference to people’s lives – 96% of people benefitting from our remodelled support say that it has helped them to feel less lonely, 85% say it has helped them to feel less anxious and 94% say they felt more confident they’d have someone to call on in a crisis or emergency.  We’re continuing to adapt this support and add new activities that meet people’s needs. In particular the people we support have been acutely missing face to face contact so we have developed appropriately distanced, safe, face to face activities such as doorstep book drops, parallel walks and garden visits. 

Although restrictions for many of us are easing, this new phase of the crisis brings new challenges. Prolonged periods of isolation have resulted in a loss of confidence and strength for many vulnerable people and we will have to work hard to support the journey back to a more normal way of life. We will be supporting people to recover their confidence, build strength and restore resilience. 

The NHS is reporting a backlog of around 10 million delayed treatments, so our transport and Home from Hospital teams will have a key role to play, making sure that people can get to their appointments and are supported to get back on their feet faster when they leave hospital.

We urgently need funding to support our new ways of working, to help offset daily losses in our regular income and plan new programmes of work that will support the medium and long term recovery.

Companies, grant makers and philanthropists can help us as we step up to meet the challenge our communities face. 

Talk to us...

...Our partnerships and philanthropy team are on hand
to discuss how your support can deliver the biggest
impact for vulnerable individuals during this crisis.

Companies: Call Kate Rooks on 07714 898606 or email her.

Trusts, foundations & philanthropists: Call Liz Thomas on
07714 898557 or email her.

 

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