Vaccine and testing volunteers recognised by Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire
The Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire has paid tribute to over 900 volunteers who have supported the Covid vaccine and testing efforts across the county.
The group of 926 people were recruited at the beginning of the year and have been volunteering as marshals at vaccination and rapid testing centres in Shrewsbury, Telford, Oswestry and Ludlow.
Recognition from Mrs Anna Turner JP comes during Volunteers’ Week, a national campaign taking place from 1 – 7 June that highlights and thanks the fantastic contribution volunteers make to our communities.
Mrs Turner is also the patron of Shropshire Rural Communities Charity (RCC), which led the recruitment drive and has been managing the volunteer support since the vaccine rollout began in January.
She said: “I would like to thank the wonderful volunteers who have given up their time to support this mammoth effort, and who are playing such a pivotal role in the fight against Covid.
“When the call for help went out there was an overwhelming response, and I’m proud to say that people across the County have continued to demonstrate their care and commitment to helping as many people as possible get vaccinated and tested.”
Shrewsbury-based charity Shropshire RCC teamed up with Shropshire Youth Association and the county’s health and care organisations to lead a volunteer recruitment campaign, and the partners have been working together over the past few months to manage volunteers for the vaccine and rapid testing programmes.
Julia Baron, Chief Executive for Shropshire RCC, said: “The vaccine rollout has and continues to be a Herculean effort, which our volunteers are playing a huge part in.
“While the challenge isn’t over yet, we want to acknowledge the time that has kindly been given by our volunteers to get us to this point, and thank them for their ongoing commitment in helping to protect people against Covid.”
Volunteers were recruited as part of the local campaign #BeAPartOfHistory, which also recruited current and retired healthcare professionals, and non-clinical staff in a range of administrative, reception and other front-of-house roles, to support the vaccine roll-out.
Partners involved include Shropshire RCC, Shropshire Youth Association, Shropshire Council, Telford & Wrekin Council, NHS Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust.
