Volunteers

For volunteers in Dunmow and close vicinity with Care For Your Neighbours

“Care For Your Neighbours”. There may be other groups of this name but this is us. It started when my wife and I put a note through immediate neighbour’s doors and people in St Mary’s Church.

This was a group of concerned people who just look after their neighbours.

The initial Care For Your Neighbours’ mission is accomplished!

We are now in a position where the vulnerable are able to get what they need as shops have made ordering easier, and medicines can be obtained and distributed by more official services.

This means that as a group, Care For Your Neighbours will no longer need to provide the original service, so most of the volunteers can now stand down. The next chapter in the story is that there may be people who still need help. Helen and John Wright are looking at the big picture to see if there are any people who may still need support and are anxious that we do not forget anyone. We borrowed a phrase, “No one left behind”. All seem to have been accounted for.

Some of our volunteers have ‘adopted’ neighbours and will be working with them for the foreseeable future. This is an unexpected spin-off from the project and it is great to see the community drawing closer.

During this time of restrictions and fear for many in our community, you rose to the occasion and supported the official services to ensure that the vulnerable were able to get food, medicines and other items. Their efforts made a huge difference to these people’s lives as their need overtook anything that the government or local community could quickly provide, filling an increase in requirements from people who were told to stay inside but with official help developing slower than the rise in need.

We will be keeping an eye on the situation and will be ready to act again if the situation worsens. Fortunately, we should not need to worry too much about shopping, as systems have been created and all our clients have now been given clear instructions on how to get shopping.

We are now collecting old computers so that some people yet to be online, may be provided with a basic computer and training to help people organise their electronic lives.

We are so grateful for the time and effort the volunteers provided at this time and their help has been appreciated at all levels including: the local community, councillors, NHS, our local MP and most of all, the people that we supported.

A letter to volunteers from Kemi Badenoch (MP Saffron Walden)