WRVS update on services affected by the weather.

Throughout this week WRVS volunteers and employees have been braving the elements and continuing to deliver services throughout the country to the best of their abilities with minimum disruption. Volunteers and employees have been extra vigilant where people have not opened their door for food delivery, or turned up to their regular lunch or social event at their local community centre.   Margaret Paterson, head of community development, WRVS said: “All our volunteers and staff are on alert for any problems, if a regular doesn’t turn up at the community centre or is unable to make their way there, we get someone to check on them and make sure they are safe and warm and have food. It’s at times like this that we all need to pull together and make sure that older people are well-looked after. Voluntary organisations across the country are doing a marvellous job and I hope this team work encourages more people to step forward to volunteer with us or any organisation that provides such essential support in a time of need.” We’ll aim to update you with more detail on this website as soon as it is available however please do listen to your own local news on radio and television for up to the minute information. WRVS has been speaking to local media to provide updates on WRVS services. WRVS chief executive, Lynne Berry was interviewed on BBC Breakfast TV this morning and talked about the tremendous work being done by our volunteers and staff under very difficult conditions. WRVS in hospitals South east Very few closures of WRVS hospital shops and cafés throughout the area however some outlets closed early as some volunteers were having problems getting to the hospital. WRVS in the home Hertfordshire East Hertfordshire has seen bad weather and heavy snowfall most week. WRVS volunteers have ensured that all their regular clients have a received their hot meal everyday and in addition have delivered meals to other local residents who would normally receive their hot meal in day centres and lunch cubs that have been forced to close. Volunteers have delivered in the region of 200 meals a day. Rochdale Rochdale Meals on Wheels has been inundated with requests from older people unable to get out because of the cold weather. WRVS volunteers have been able to continue to provide their vital services and have been flexible enough to cope with the demand for extra meals. Volunteers were particularly concerned about a few older and vulnerable people on their delivery round.  In a few cases, volunteers helped to serve their meal and make them a cup of tea, offering them some comfort. Watch the story on BBC Northwest tonight website. (WRVS is not responsible for the content of other websites and this story may be removed) Worcestershire Meal deliveries continue in the Worcestershire area which has been hit with heavy snow. On Thursday meals were delivered to all but eight out of 700 of their usual clients due to access problems in rural areas. Contact was made to each of them to ensure that they had enough food supplies or that they had previously supplied frozen meals to reheat. Only two members did not manage to get in to help with daily deliveries. Several drivers called in to advise they could not get in, however, some were able to be picked up. All rounds have been covered, doubling up on drivers for safety. Warwickshire Warwickshire was also badly affected. Despite our Rugby kitchen being almost inaccessible, WRVS staff and volunteers have been working with social services to deliver meals to all vulnerable people in the area. Approximately 80 per cent of deliveries were made after an appeal for all WRVS volunteers in the area to assist. WRVS emergency services WRVS emergency services teams are available to support local authorities and blue light services 24/7 during emergencies ,disasters and of course adverse weather conditions. Teams were helping to support the residents of Rothbury, Northumberland for over three days during severe weather conditions as the gas and electric was cut in the area. A rest centre was set up and WRVS and other agencies helped provide food and drink to all those actively involved in doing the repairs during freezing conditions. About WRVS WRVS (http://www.wrvs.org.uk) volunteers and employees work together to support people in need who might otherwise feel lonely and isolated, whether at home, in hospital, or in times of crisis. For further information, please call 01235 442949. WRVS is one of Britain’s leading volunteering charities with over 55,000 volunteers working to help older people in your communities to get more out of life. If you are over the age of 14, we have volunteering opportunities in communities, in hospitals and in emergency situations. Find out how you could become a WRVS volunteer, call 0845 601 4670 today (all calls charged at local rate) or register to volunteer online and someone will contact you to let you know about local opportunities. Or help make a difference by making a secure online charity donation to WRVS. If you are a member of the press and have a media enquiry or would like to speak with a WRVS representative, please contact Saadia Usmani, media development and relations manager on 07714 898556. For all other enquiries please contact us.

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