Volunteers help CACT & Royal Borough of Greenwich combat COVID-19

The Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG) has teamed up with the community voluntary sector to ensure that volunteers are able to help vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Charlton Athletic Community Trust (CACT) is one of the organisations commissioned to deliver some major aspects of the infrastructure, working closely with partners such as GCDA, METRO GAVS and Volunteer Centre Greenwich. And CACT staff have been out picking up shopping and prescriptions and delivering them at the homes of vulnerable residents following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Royal Greenwich has launched a new initiative to get volunteers involved in the process of helping community organisations such as CACT deliver these essentials to people across the Borough.

Thousands of people have already come forward to help and support those who may be struggling to cope. This has included helping with things like food shopping, dog walking and calling people for a chat to help combat loneliness.

On Thursday 27 March, John Butcher, a Road Safety Officer for RBG, began volunteering and helping CACT staff with deliveries.

He said:

“Yesterday, I delivered a letter to someone, and did some shopping trips with CACT. Staff at ASDA Charlton were really helpful – and today I’ve also been helping someone sort out their energy bill and put money on their card.

“Everyone needs to pull together, and if you’re able to help, you should volunteer. It’s just about working together if you’re able to.”

John is used to helping vulnerable members of the community throughout the year. Speaking about his day-to-day work, he said:

“I do quite a lot of work with adults and children with special needs throughout the year.

“We go into schools to do workshops for all school years on keeping safe while out and about. We also do independent travel work.”

There are lots of ways that people across the country are volunteering to help. Once registered and checked, CACT and RBG volunteers will be quickly dispatched to help those with urgent needs.

Click here to sign up to Royal Greenwich’s Community Hub volunteering scheme.

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