In response to constituents who have been in touch about helping vulnerable people during this emergency for our country, Theresa Villiers has published the following tips on how to get involved in volunteering...
"Many of us want to volunteer to help others at this very difficult time for so many vulnerable people. But it's important that we ensure that we do that in a way which complies with the rules on social distancing which we're now all subject to.
I would recommend that people wanting to volunteer to check out the Volunteering Barnet website which has lots of useful advice and guidance: https://volunteeringbarnet.org.uk/.
Volunteering Barnet is a charity working with Barnet Council on the response to Coronavirus. You can ring them on 0300 365 9960.
Friend In Need - FIN in East Barnet are also looking for volunteers. They do wonderful work and if you want to help, you should contact Jesse on jesse@fin-eastbarnet.org.uk or 020 8449 8225.
The sign-up page for the national volunteering scheme to support the NHS is:
https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS
However, the reaction to this appeal for help was so massive (around 750,000 have signed up) this is temporarily closed to new volunteers. It may re-open again at a later stage.
If you are a business and want to take part in national efforts to tackle Covid-19, for example by supplying additional equipment such as PPE and alcohol hand gel, please fill out the form at this link:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/L5B32S/
If you want to be part of the efforts to produce more ventilators, you can find more information here:
https://ventilator.herokuapp.com/
Thank you to everyone who is already helping out vulnerable people to get through this emergency for our country."