Chesterfield community group set up to help the vulnerable amid coronavirus pandemic

Chesterfield people are being asked to do their bit to be kind during the coronavirus pandemic by supporting vulnerable members of the community.
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NHS personal assistant Tom Oxley has set up the Chesterfield Community Volunteers group on social media to find drivers, telephone befriending buddies, food shoppers and others who can support the elderly and those in self-isolation.

The volunteers are also hoping for donations from supermarkets and shops, and have set up a JustGiving page so they can collect toiletry hampers to drop off for the elderly.

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Tom Oxley is organising a team of volunteers in Chesterfield to help isolated people during the coronavirus pandemic.Tom Oxley is organising a team of volunteers in Chesterfield to help isolated people during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tom Oxley is organising a team of volunteers in Chesterfield to help isolated people during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tom, who lives in Chesterfield, said: “After seeing the news article about people aged 70-plus having to self-isolate I felt something needed to be done from a local level. I therefore created a poster and shared it on social media. The response has been amazing.

“I'm now looking at arranging a teleconference on Thursday for me and some of the volunteers to get our heads together to discuss how best to take this project forward.

“I'm currently devising a list of older people/vulnerable people who'll need help. I have already had people message me who live outside the county and are worried about their elderly relatives. They're so pleased and reassured that a group like this has been set up.

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“The more help the better, especially if people have specific skills.”

There is an immediate need for a company or individual who can print posters, letters and information to include in the packs which will need laminating to cut the risk of infection.

Tom has been a volunteer for many years and works with Re-Engage, where he hosts an afternoon tea for the elderly at his home, as well as Age UK, where he was a call-in time volunteer.

People always tell me what I do is so lovely,” he said. “I just reply that I treat people how I would want to be treated. I'd like to think that there was this kind of help and support when I'm at that age.”

If anyone has any recommendations, or would like to get involved, email [email protected].

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