Supporting your community during COVID-19?

 

During Covid-19, people in church communities are playing their part in their neighbourhoods, supporting the vulnerable and front line workers – as neighbours looking out for neighbours as well as more formal volunteering.

Here’s our brief round up of useful links and practical resources

  • The Trussell Trust is calling for more volunteers and especially from churches. With the demand for food banks increasing, more food stocks are needed. The established volunteer base has fallen due to many regulars being in the at-risk group or self-isolating, so volunteers of working age are urgently required for roles including warehouse staff, delivery drivers and social media advocates. Find out more here.
  • Jubilee+ have a wealth of expertise for churches who run foodbanks and support disadvantaged communities through social action. They are doing regular video updates and providing online support to support churches during the Covid19 crisis.
  • The Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK volunteer network has now grown in just a few weeks to more than 4,000 groups across the UK. Communicating via Facebook or WhatsApp, groups are run entirely by volunteers, often members of churches. Those involved are supporting the most vulnerable at a hyper local level during the COVID19 outbreak with errands, information distribution and emotional comfort. To see the map click here. To see a public shared document with the list of groups and links, click here. To view resources, click here. Many groups use the ViralKindness card, downloadable here.
  • FareShare is the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, made up of 17 independent organisations. They take good quality surplus food from the food industry and get it to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups. They currently need volunteers to get food to vulnerable people in one of two roles – as a warehouse assistant or as a driver. Register your interest here.
  • Together Apart is a new hub for rural churches supporting people in rural areas during the pandemic, with a range of resources including farming and agriculture support, practical resources, guidance and advice, plus resources for children and families.
  • For the latest advice on the new rules about work or finances affected by COVID-19, or regarding changes to benefits, go to the JustFinance Corona Virus Help Hub. Citizens Advice also has a guidance page here.
  • YourNeighbour is a new initiative helping churches be good neighbours in the Covid-19 crisis. Started by the GoodFaith Foundation they aim to equip church leaders with the latest updates and resources and connect people in need to churches. They are calling for volunteers with experience in the following: Comms and Marketing; Tech & Digital; Church Leader Support; Working with the most vulnerable. Find out more about volunteering here and sign up for updates here.
  • FaithAction has set up a dedicated coronavirus page containing general and faith-based guidance for mental health charities, advice for carers, victims of domestic abuse, and people from BAME groups.
  • Strong couple relationships are vital for family stability and with job losses, financial worries and domestic stress, many will find themselves struggling under pressure. Marriage Care specialises in couple counselling and now operates entirely online. Get in touch to find out about the options available.
  • Government advice for how to help someone you believe is a victim of domestic abuse can be found here.
  • Government advice for funeral arrangements can be found here. A resource for those mourning loved ones who cannot attend the funeral, click to download here.

This is from our 2020 Easter newsletter