Lucy: “Volunteering has given me a sense of purpose. It’s a great feeling helping my local community.”

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic the EFL Trust and its network of Community Club Organisations have quickly adapted, identifying ways to make sure we can keep supporting our communities and reaching out to those in need.

One of those ways has been through volunteering. We are so proud that some of our staff have risen to the challenge and taken their time to volunteer in their communities. Never has there been a more important time to utilise the ability of the Football Club badge to enhance and improve people’s lives.

Lucy’s volunteering story:

When COVID-19 hit the UK and Boris started with the daily announcements, it quickly hit home at how serious this pandemic was going to be, for the country and our local communities.

Working within EFL Trust and being surrounded by fantastic organisations that are constantly helping the community, my first thoughts were ‘what can I do to help?’

At one of the awaited announcements from the Prime Minister he launched an initiative called ‘NHS Volunteer Responders’, a group of volunteers that would help in their community to support non-medical tasks and those that were having to self-isolate due to specific medical conditions.

I signed up the next morning and after a couple of days going through checks and procedures I became an official NHS Volunteer Responder.

The jobs have varied and increased significantly since the app was launched, ranging from me doing many shopping trips for people, transporting people home from hospital to a check in and chat to support those in isolation over the phone.

Shopping trips in the north have not been without their challenges, toilet roll and flour has been like gold dust up here, so the jobs have not been as easy as they seem at times and phone calls with the isolated have racked up to hours at times… I know I can talk!

I have had lots of comments from those using the service that we are doing a fabulous job but I believe I have got more out of this experience than those I am helping.

After being furloughed, I think it can be easy to fall into the trap of feeling you have a lack of purpose in the day, as we are so far away from normality and a normal daily routine.

So volunteering has certainly kept me busy and given me a sense of purpose. It is a great feeling helping my local community and the NHS in a small way at this time.

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