Elected Members have given a special vote of thanks to all the volunteers and Community Resilience Groups who have played such a significant role in the Covid-19 emergency over the past two years.
At the height of the pandemic, there were hundreds of local volunteers and at least 69 Resilience Groups supporting the region’s response and recovery efforts.
The Resilience Groups became an absolutely integral part of the multi-agency Community Assistance Hubs set up by the Council, NHS Borders and the Third Sector to provide support for the vulnerable, particularly those who were shielding or in self-isolation.
Not only did volunteers undertake vital tasks such as food and medication deliveries, they also co-ordinated the significant number of offers that were received from residents and organisations willing to help out.
Other examples of the community spirit shown across the region included the setting up of foodbanks, providing shopping collection and delivery services, offering home-cooked hot meals and even a dog walking service.
SBC Convener, Councillor David Parker
“From the very start of the pandemic we saw people coming together to join their local Resilience Group or set up new groups as required.
“These volunteers worked tirelessly at a very challenging time to support the vulnerable by providing services such as shopping, prescription collections or a friendly voice at the end of the phone.
“While we can’t quantify the number of hours or amount of support they provided we know it was massive, the like of which even we in the Borders have never seen before. The most humbling thing about all of this was that they weren’t asked to do it – they just did.
“It would be impossible to single out any one individual or particular group for particular praise because every action, however small, that every volunteer performed in their community made a difference to someone and deserve our heartfelt thanks.”
More information
- the vote of thanks was given at the beginning of the meeting held on 10 March
- images highlighting some of the volunteer efforts from the past two years are available on our Flickr page