Wealden MP Nus Ghani has presented two Wealden Hero Awards to community organisations within her constituency.
So far this year, Crowborough Foodbank has provided over 12,500 meals to over 1,400 people in need, despite losing many of its volunteers at the beginning of April due to shielding or vulnerability.
This also coincided with the relocation of the warehouse to enable social distancing measures to be implemented.
Nicky Tierney, Lin Arney, Iain Luxford and Carol Roberts immediately stood in as team leaders and oversaw the reorganisation process, and due to their organisational skills, the foodbank was operating seamlessly again within a week.
Teams of volunteers then resumed collecting food from supermarkets, sorting, boxing, and allocating items, managing referrals, and making deliveries to addresses across the area.
The English Soap Company donated some of their soaps which were distributed to organisations by Nus Ghani and her team earlier this year. These have also been delivered to the Crowborough Food Bank, who ensured their distribution across the community.
Alison Homewood, Eduardo Angeleri, Mark Symons and Paul Kemp work at Wealdlink, a community transport charity that offers services including door-to-door transport, community trips and scheduled bus services.
Wealdlink is largely operated by volunteers and enables the elderly to travel across North Wealden and maintain their independence.
At the beginning of lockdown, Eduardo set up a shopping and delivery service through Wealdlink. With the support of the trustees, the operations manager, and help and hard work from Alison, Paul, Mark and other volunteers, Wealdlink have helped many of Wealden’s elderly residents who were unable to venture to the shops.
Nearly 400 shopping trips have been completed and 3,500 miles travelled across North Wealden with deliveries.
As part of this service, volunteers were also collecting and delivering prescriptions, and taking passengers to medical appointments. Although many passengers have now returned to the buses, Wealdlink continues to offer shopping and delivery services. For more information, please visit: www.4weald.co.uk.
Nus Ghani said: “Our communities have been at their most vulnerable over the last few months.
"The Crowborough Foodbank team and the Wealdlink team have done an amazing job in adapting their services to the situation and accommodating for the needs of the most vulnerable people in the community.
"They have organised much-needed support and helped thousands of people across the constituency. I am delighted to present all these wonderful volunteers with the Wealden Hero Award and to celebrate their efforts.”
You can access the original article here.
