Charity’s ‘Hour of Need’ campaign urges public to donate their time to support local NHS and people in need during next phase of the pandemic

With the country back in lockdown, Royal Voluntary Service is calling on people in Pembrokeshire to volunteer for an ‘hour per week’ or more, to see their local community through the difficult winter ahead.

The charity’s Hour of Need campaign (hourofneed.org.uk), which is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, is calling for a repeat of the groundswell of generosity and positivity it saw back in March when people stepped forward to volunteer, to help see the NHS and the most vulnerable people through lockdown safely.

The call for volunteers comes on the back of research finding that more than 4.9 million over 50s, many with health conditions and without family nearby, say they would benefit from volunteer help this winter.

In Wales, research revealed that over a third (35 per cent) of people are concerned about the lack of support their friends or family will have access to throughout winter.

Requests for help from the vulnerable and the NHS are rapidly increasing and volunteers are needed in Pembrokeshire to support with a range of valuable services.

There are a variety of roles available, from helping vulnerable people recover at home after a hospital stay, to serving refreshments to NHS staff and patients in our retail estate.

Particularly in demand are volunteers to help transport patients to or from hospital or the GP, so that shielding and vulnerable people can still attend vital medical appointments safely and confidently.

Karyn Morris, Commissioned Service Operations Manager for Royal Voluntary Service in Pembrokeshire said: “It’s already been an incredibly tough year for both our clients and the NHS, and the new lockdown presents even more challenges.

“The truth is that the more volunteers we have on board, the faster our communities will recover. If you can spare even just an hour a week you’ll be doing an amazing thing for your community.”

Lisa Belletty, Health and Wellbeing Advisor at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “We’re delighted that players of People’s Postcode Lottery have been able to support Royal Voluntary Service in its incredible efforts throughout the crisis so far. We now stand by the charity in its call for thousands more volunteers to help us move forward in the next phase of the fight against Covid-19.”

Thousands of volunteers will be required nationwide to assist and protect the NHS by supporting the most vulnerable patients to stay safe and well.

The public can explore a range of volunteering opportunities by visiting the ‘Hour of Need’ campaign on the Royal Voluntary Service website: hourofneed.org.uk

Royal Voluntary Service is one of Britain’s largest volunteering charities with volunteers supporting the NHS and thousands of vulnerable people in the community.

During the crisis the charity has delivered the NHS Volunteer Responders programme for NHS England enabled by the GoodSAM app with 360,000 active volunteers responding to over 1.3 million requests for support so far.

The charity has also worked in local communities through the crisis running home libraries, companionship support, home from hospital services and patient transport.

Its new Virtual Village Hall provides live classes and tutorials on Facebook to promote well-being and keep people active and occupied through the pandemic.