Community groups make renewed plea for help.
A local woman helping an Erdington community support group to deliver food and essential supplies and safeguard elderly and vulnerable residents says volunteering has saved her life.
Donna Tone (pictured) said her experience working alongside Mutual Aid Group Erdington Local Community Response, has helped her to survive the lockdown.
At the start of Volunteers Week (June 1st-7th) the primary school worker is now urging others to follow her example and reap the “amazing” benefits it brings.
“Should people volunteer? Absolutely,” she said. “You are not only doing good for others but for yourself too. My self-esteem and confidence has increased massively since I started volunteering and I’ve made some amazing friends and met some lovely people.
“At the beginning of the lockdown I felt very isolated with my family living far away from me – but my volunteering has changed that. I now feel uplifted as a person. I don’t think I would have survived the lockdown without my volunteering – it saved me.”
Donna, who has spent the last three months helping to pack and distribute food parcels from a base in Ladywood, points to the collective efforts and unity of those working to support those in need.
“It’s like your own little community,” she said. “One minute you’ve got these strangers standing behind you, the next minute they’re becoming your friends.
“You just start talking to people and form connections, everyone is there to help each other, they are invested in the collective effort. Everyone is united.”
Erdington Local Community Response was founded by local woman . It has been delivering hundreds of food parcels every week to homes across the district and supporting people through befriending services and via social media with information and resources shared on its Facebook page.
David Owen, who co-ordinates activity for the group, said the support it has received has been ‘eye-watering’ but with certain lockdown measures now being eased and people returning to their day jobs, volunteers are needed to sustain the help that’s being delivered to people.
“The take up of volunteers in Erdington has been immense with over seventy people giving up their time to pack, shop and deliver for those in need,” he said. “But as these people return to work, we need a new wave of volunteers to get us through the weeks and months ahead.
“So if anyone out there, who lives in the North Birmingham area, can spare some time to help our group over the coming weeks we’d really love to hear from them. Please email me at erdingtoncv19@gmail.com.”
Erdington Local Community Response is a member of the Erdington COVID19 Taskforce – a network of local community organisations and individuals working together to support the district’s vulnerable, isolated and at risk during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Taskforce is facilitated by Witton Lodge Community Association. Chief Officer, Afzal Hussain, commented: “Volunteers are the lifeblood of organisations like ours and their efforts across the constituency in support of organisations like Erdington Local Community Response has been truly inspiring.
“We have also benefited from their incredible and selfless work in getting food parcels packed and delivered to the most vulnerable members of our community during the lockdown.
“Without their support a lot of the work that has been achieved would not have been possible. We are all very grateful to every single one of our amazing volunteers.”
A directory of all Erdington COVID19 Taskforce organisations can be found here.