The COVID-19 pandemic has seen people from all walks of life step up and volunteer for their local community, and our fantastic staff are no different. We have been using our small fleet of charity vans to support community efforts around the country to support keyworkers, the vulnerable and those who are self-isolating.
The Soldiers’ Charity thrives on working with others and this pandemic is no different. Our East Midlands office joined forces with The Helpful Bureau, alongside the local Fire Brigade, to deliver meals to the elderly and vulnerable. On Easter weekend, they went the extra mile and included a bunch of Easter flowers in their delivery to keep a smile on the faces of those they were helping.
Phil from our East Midlands office
We’ve offered our services to Age UK to deliver personalised protective equipment (PPE) to their county supporters and, in the North East, we have been working with the Colbourn Community Group to deliver essential protective clothing to GP surgeries, care homes, the James Cook Trauma Unit Middlesborough and The Friage Hospital Northallerton.
Jim from our North East office
Alongside helping in the local community, many of our staff serve, or have served, in the military themselves. Over the last couple of months, the Ministry of Defence has mobilised 3,000 reservists, and 20,000 regular service personnel, to support the government’s response. Among them is our very own North East Regional Director, Lieutanant Colonel Barney Barnbrook. Barney’s key responsibilities include organising PPE through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and assisting with the provision of mobile test sites.
We are blown away by the generosity of our staff during this difficult time and are proud of all that they are doing. It has been wonderful to lend a hand to the national effort in this small way.