When Volunteers unite, they create a movement. We thank you all. #VolunteersWeek

[VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY BELOW]

This week, we celebrate volunteers all over the UK. The Volunteers Week initiative was started to acknowledge and say thank you to volunteers across Great Britain for giving their time to help others. And boy, have we had the most amazing volunteers of our own, here in Beaminster.

When Covid-19 erupted, Beaminster Town Council’s Community Resilience Team knew that they couldn’t run any type of support programme within the community without extra hands. They put out the call and that’s when Beaminster stepped up, they soon had responses from well over 100 individuals all offering their time and help.

The Resilience Team identified key areas of support that might be required within Beaminster. Support for residents who would be self-isolating, assisting businesses that would be facing unprecedented pressures and help for individuals who needed advice and someone to talk to.

In Beaminster the volunteers have been involved in a range of varied activities that have helped individuals throughout the community. Nothing was too much effort for any of them and tasks have been carried out efficiently, positively and with very infectious smiles. Here are some of the tasks our volunteers have carried out:

Delivery of the Coronavirus Support information leaflets to every household
Grocery shopping for Beaminster residents
Collection and delivery of prescriptions for individuals
Delivering prescriptions for both Doctors surgeries
Assisting shops with their deliveries
Delivery of the donated Mapperton House home-cooked meals
Assisting Beaminster’s Food Bank with deliveries and collections
Taking and making Wellbeing calls through the Phone Buddies initiative
Answering and logging the calls for help at Beaminster Town Council
Coordination of the volunteer teams
Critical communication and the provision of regular updates via Discover Beaminster
Keeping residents updated on available support throughout the town.
Linking in with and signposting to various support organisations like Dorset Council, the WI, Age Concern and Help & Care
Joining up with and supporting similar initiatives to cover the wider Dorset area
Creating fruit & vegetable parcels and delivering them to residents on the Town Council bus
Working with local press to spread the message further (Bridport Times, Bridport Lockdown, Abbey 104)
Keeping business up to date on support available from the Government in terms of grants.

The way that this incredible team of people rallied together to make sure that Beaminster functioned, residents were looked after and businesses supported, has been representative of a community truly coming together to look after one another. It has been heart-warming and inspiring to receive the amount of support we have during a period of incredible anxiety and worry, where their first remit was to ensure that everyone in Beaminster felt safe and looked after.

So, during this very special week, we, at Discover Beaminster and on behalf of Beaminster Town Council want to salute each and every one of you who have given so unconditionally your time and efforts to keep our town running, including those volunteers who didn’t wish to be photographed or were unavailable for photographs.

We know we’re not out of the woods yet, and work continues. But we take this moment to pause and say Thank You.

We couldn’t do this without you.

And so, with the biggest appreciation, we’d like to introduce them to you in the Gallery below.