Crisis ignites spirit of volunteering

Prospect members across the UK are doing their bit to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

In Cumbia, Sellafield employee Caroline Easdon has volunteered to help at Cumbria County Council’s emergency call centre for vulnerable people.

Along with her fellow call centre volunteers, Caroline is connecting people who need help with the community hub that can best provide support. The helpline is supporting around 200 people a day.

Caroline said: “During the Second World War my gran volunteered to be part of the land army. In years to come, when we look back on all of this and people ask me what did I do? I want to be able to say that I helped. And hopefully someone down the line will be proud that I stepped up in the same way that I am proud of my gran.

“Most of the people who I have spoken with at the call centre are ringing in because they are worried about how to get food and prescriptions. Others are concerned that they haven’t seen their neighbour for a while and want someone to go and check on them.

“I take the details of those calls and feed them into the network of community hubs and local groups so that vulnerable people can get the help they need.

“All the precautions that you would expect to see, like social distancing and welfare and handwashing facilities are in place, and from next week we should be able to man the call centre virtually from home.

“If anyone is considering volunteering, go for it. Hearing someone tell you that they appreciate being able to talk to a real person about their concerns, and that you’ve helped, is really rewarding,” she concluded.

Caroline works as part of the Corporate Affairs team at Sellafield. The company has confirmed that any employee who isn’t a key worker can volunteer to support their local community during work time.