Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

Another good turn out last night at 8pm – Clapping/Whistling & Hooting for all our support workers, volunteers and NHS staff.

Thank you for your continued efforts to meet the needs of your local communities.  We have received a few enquiries this week, our response to which I thought to be worth summarising and sharing with wider partners.  Hopefully this information will be of use, apologies if you are already aware of some of it.  As ever please do feel free to get in touch if you have any other concerns or queries.

Q: How are we reaching out to the most clinically vulnerable?

Regarding ‘shielded’ residents there will be a coordinated delivery of food parcels by the Red Cross across Cambridgeshire by Cambridgeshire County Council. https://www.cambstimes.co.uk/news/council-food-parcels-covid19-1-6588470
if you have concerns for any resident, groups are encouraged to make a referral to Fenland’s covid19@fenland.gov.uk 01354 654321 and we can help refer them accordingly.

Q: Is there any financial help available to groups who are responding?

• Cambridge Community Foundation have set up a fund: https://www.cambscf.org.uk/cambridgeshire-coronavirus-community-fund.html  for up to £5,000 for groups responding to Covid19.  We are informed that turn around on grant decision is within 14 days.
• The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has launched a £5 million rapid response Fund to help smaller charitable organisations affected by the impact of Covid-19. The funding aims to help them to continue to deliver much needed support to communities across the UK. https://www.cafonline.org/charities/grantmaking/caf-coronavirus-emergency-fund
• The Princes Countryside Fund is inviting applications for emergency funding from farming and rural community support groups, who are providing assistance to counter the effects of isolation during the Coronavirus pandemic. Up to £2,500, deadline for applications is 12pm 15^th April https://www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/grant-giving-programme/grant-programme

Q: Is there any guidance for groups such as ours?

• Cambridge Council for Voluntary Services are developing specific resources for the voluntary sector http://www.cambridgecvs.org.uk/group-support In addition they are supporting existing and newly formed groups by telephone.  Contact email enquiries@cambridgecvs.org.uk please leave a telephone number and name, organisation and a preferred contact time between 9am and 4pm.

• Government has issued guidance to volunteers regarding keeping themselves and others safe which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-how-to-help-safely–2/coronavirus-how-to-help-safely

Q:  Do we know of any offers of food donation our group can access? 

• We have received information that Booker Wholesalers, with the closure of pubs/restaurants are predicting over the coming week higher levels of food available for charities to collect. The email can be viewed here: https://mailchi.mp/fareshare/covid-19-update-from-fareshare-go-2740789?e=3ec601066a

It looks as though it is linked to the FareShare Scheme, which organisations who are interested can find out about here: https://fareshare.org.uk/getting-food/fareshare-go-support/

• We are also happy to put organisations in touch with one another.  If you have a particular need be it for supplies, volunteers etc. or if you have an offer of support please contact me with as much information as possible and we will circulate this along with your organisations contact details to the known groups and volunteers in Fenland.

Thank you again for your ongoing work.

Best wishes
Isabel

Isabel Edgington
Senior Events and Projects Officer
Fenland District Council
01354 602167 | 07950 751870

Council provides essential supplies for most vulnerable shielding Coronavirus – See below…

Due to the advice issued by the Government changing daily, the dates of these works may change or get cancelled at short notice. To check any works, please use the link provided which will take you to One.network – this updates automatically with any date changes, and will disappear if cancelled.
https://one.network/

Click on picture to enlarge…..

Today I received 4 requests from self isolating residents for their medications to be collected and delivered, unfortunatley there was no NHW coordinators in the area’s, so I decided Connie & I would facilitate the requests.
I remained in the car throughout and she wore protective clothing.

I was somewhat ‘extremely’ surprised by the number of people on the streets of Whittlesey, all appearing to be on essential business.
There was 8 people waiting outside the Norwich & Peterborough all at safe distancing.
Heron & Savers had plenty of customers.

I could take off photo’s from my dash-cam – but would probably be violating someone’s human rights.
Either I am wrong, the Government advice is wrong, Scientific prognosis is wrong, but it looks very much like many appear to be ‘on holiday’.

There were several groups of what looked like families or friends, that were in close proximity to one another.

Well at least we have done our good deed for today….

I can only keep on – with the advice we are being given –

Please take a moment to read……
The links which are contained in the document are as follows:-

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/coronavirus/covid-19-coordination-hub-your-community-needs-you

covid19@fenland.gov.uk

Coronavirus: How to help safely