Charity and church workers in the south of the borough have been brought close to tears by the daily acts of generosity from the community in the midst of the coronavirus crisis
In Selsdon, a group of local charities, churches, supermarkets and GP surgeries have managed a co-ordinated effort since the covid-19 lockdown was ordered and over the past fortnight have now delivered 280 weekly food packages to the elderly and most vulnerable residents in their area.
Volunteers in Selsdon get ready to go out on their latest delivery run
By last weekend, the Selsdon Food Hub had completed a second week in which it delivered shopping, while also helping with collecting prescriptions, and on top of all that, it provided a telephone befriending service for several lonely and isolated residents.
Jaz Potter, from the Croydon Jubilee Church, said, “The response from the community has been amazing.
“The acts of kindness I have seen this week have been deeply moving. Twice this week, as I approached the supermarket checkout, someone has stepped forward to pay for all the groceries.
“The second time, the bill was nearly £100, and as the lady offered, all the customers in Aldi began to cheer. I found myself moved to tears. I hope we never forget the lessons we are learning right now.”
The Selsdon hub is receiving aid and voluntary help from Selsdon Contact, the Selsdon Centre for the Retired, Monks Hill Food Stop, Selsdon churches, GP surgeries, Vintage 62, Sainsbury and Aldi.
“It has been a truly inspiring week, but we are not resting on our laurels, we are now aiming to sign up street champions for every street in Selsdon,” Potter said. “The aim of the champion is to make sure that their friends and neighbours feel supported during these challenging times.”
The food donations boxes are situated just by the entrance to Sainsbury’s in Selsdon. Alternatively, cash donations are being made through the Selsdon Contact website.
To sign up as a street champion and keep up to date with the latest developments you can join the following groups: Coronavirus Selsdon Support on Facebook; or Selsdon Covid 19 Support on WhatsApp.
The food stop service on Monks Hill (based at St Francis Church) and the Vine Food Bank service in New Addington are also in operation and continually need donations.
Read more on coronavirus in Croydon and how to claim Council Tax relief or business grants:
- Ten top tips to help do your bit during the covid-19 emergency
- Council Tax relief announcement delay nets £20m to Town Hall
- Croydon slips out news that parking charges are suspended
- Council promises to pay business virus grants in seven days
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or what to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
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