TEAMS of volunteers are in place across East Lothian doing everything they can to help vulnerable members of their communities.
From collecting shopping and vital prescriptions to dog walking and simply being there for people, the volunteers are there for residents throughout the coronavirus crisis.
Here, we look at four of the groups who are giving up their own time to help out.
Haddington
RESILIENCE volunteers in Haddington have stressed they will continue to be there for people in need, despite restrictions being eased.
Kind-hearted volunteers throughout the town have been busy for the last three months offering support to vulnerable members of the community.
Lockdown restrictions continue to be relaxed but Chris McEwan, who has been heavily involved in the community resilience efforts, stressed the volunteers would continue to be on hand to help.
However, he said: “Things have been starting to really quieten down, with a lot of people going out and about.”
The volunteers have offered a range of services, including collecting prescriptions and shopping, as well as walking dogs.
Chris said those services would continue to be available to those who needed them, particularly with many people going back to work.
He added: “We are expecting a bit of a surge from people who did get help from their neighbours.
“Now, they have nobody to help them, even with shielding.”
Contact details
Anyone looking for assistance should phone 07952 003386 between 10am and 4pm.
Humbie, East and West Saltoun, and Bolton
COMMUNITY efforts have helped bring East Saltoun closer together, according to a lead volunteer.
Coronavirus and lockdown restrictions have meant vulnerable people relying on the kind-hearted nature of neighbours and other people across the county.
Buffy Neilson, the single point of contact in East Saltoun, was pleased to say they continued to cope with demand.
She said: “We are still managing to get volunteers, despite the fact folk have busy lives and are back at work.
“It is just business as usual.
“We are getting slightly fewer requests but nonetheless we are getting lots and lots of pharmacy visits and shopping; we are still coping.
“People have busy lives and people are beginning to go back to work but we are still managing.
“We have enough volunteers and a really good pool of folk who are willing to help out.
“It is wonderful; it has brought the village community together.”
Contact details
For those needing assistance, people in Bolton should contact Shena Jamieson on 01620 810239 or by emailing shenajamieson@aol.com
East Saltoun residents can contact Buffy Neilson on 07798 738372 or buffyneilson@yahoo.co.uk
In West Saltoun, Derek Smith is the point of contact on 01875 340722 or by emailing coruisk27@gmail.com
In Humbie, people are encouraged to call Margo Hodge on 01875 833638 or email humbiehelp20@gmail.com
Musselburgh
AS RESILIENT Musselburgh enters week 16 of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, volunteers continue to provide support to vulnerable residents in the community.
Last week, the team delivered 356 meals from Hickory, the catering and event management company, 230 soups and sandwiches, two prescriptions, seven emergency food packs, 57 school lunches, three requests for hearing aid batteries, one ‘Click and Collect’ shopping order, 100 copies of the Musselburgh Courier and 10 garden tools.
Iain Clark, chairman of Musselburgh Area Partnership, said: “Resilient Musselburgh continues to receive fresh fruit every week from Tesco Musselburgh, which has been great.”
He added: “Last week was adult activity week and we provided 80 adult activity packs, including short stories, quizzes and seeds to plant.
“Activity packs to support isolation and health and wellbeing are on a rotational basis, with an adult week and a children’s week. We also provided activities to five children, including sun catchers to paint, to meet some needs during adult week.
“We have continued to receive the support of many community groups and a big thank you goes to the Musselburgh First Step Community Project for their recent financial donation.”
Resilient Musselburgh is being led by Musselburgh & Inveresk Community Council and the area partnership.
Contact details
The Resilient Musselburgh dedicated support number is 07871 729037.
Tranent and Elphinstone
THE resilience group in Tranent and Elphinstone marked the efforts of two of its volunteers for the huge milestone they reached this week.
Joyce Thomson and Duncan McBride have prepared 10,000 meals for people in the Fa’side area since the start of lockdown.
The pair have been based in the East Lothian Co-operative Bowling Club, on Tranent’s Blawearie Road.
They would be in the bowling club five or six days a week making meals for those in need in the area.
Two industrial-sized fridgefreezers were also delivered to the club to store food and meals.
Ingredients have been provided by either the Pennypit Trust or donations from the local community.
The meals were delivered by about 10 volunteer delivery drivers, six of whom have volunteered since the start of lockdown.
On Tuesday, a small celebratory ceremony with cake was held for the pair, attended by representatives from the bowling club, as well as Simon Davie, area manager for Fa’side Area Partnership.
The resilience efforts in Tranent and Elphinstone are led by the local community council, overseen by its single point of contact (SPoC) Mike Falconer.
Mike commended the pair’s achievement and said Joyce and Duncan had done “a great job”. He also thanked the bowling club for the use of its facilities.
Mike said: “The support has just been fantastic. It hasn’t waned at all.
“Some of our longer serving volunteers are starting to go back to work but other people have been stepping up.”
He also said that the resilience effort in its current form would start winding down from July 31, and support from Fundamental Foods and the Pennypit Trust would run until August 31.
However, Fundamental Foods and the Pennypit Trust are currently working on a plan for continuing their service.
Contact details
Anyone who needs help of any kind from the resilience team can contact them on 07483 453878 or tranentemergencyresponse@gmail.com
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