At Ardwick and Longsight Covid Mutual Aid Group, helping the community wouldn't be possible without the help of our Volunteers. We've taken some time to get to know some of our Volunteers. Here are their stories in their own words...
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Meet Hannah
I'm 31 living in Manchester City Centre and I enjoy running, yoga, cooking and baking.
I’m an Equine vet and was Furloughed from work after Easter and wanted to help out in the pandemic some way and stay busy.
I’ve helped on the hotline number taking calls from people in need. I’ve helped out at the store, bagging up food items to go into food packages for families and then helped deliver some of these parcels.
There is a group of 15 homeless people living in a hotel that we are providing hot meals for every evening. I’ve cooked for this group on two evenings now. I've also talked to ALL radio about the group and my experience in volunteering. It’s good to know I’ve helped people.
I’ve enjoyed cooking and baking for the group of 15 the most. Cooking is something I enjoy anyway and it’s good to know the food is going to people that really need it and hopefully they enjoy it.
It's been great meeting the other volunteers, who I wouldn't have met otherwise, and learning about what they do. Through the volunteering I’ve got to know the community and Manchester itself more.
Meet Kamal
My main job usually involves being a Private Hire Driver, however I’m also a Sports Secretary for Bangladeshi Organisation in Longsight and a Labour Party Activist for Ardwick.
Whilst volunteering I have been carrying out delivery of food parcels, helping with the distribution of food at the ARMR store and I have cooked for 16 homeless people.
The reason I got involved in this is because I wanted to help the community in this difficult time and I enjoy doing this. I also get to meet different people with different qualities and at least I’m not stuck at home and I’m able to help someone in need.
Meet Rachel
I am 39 years old and originally from Germany. I moved to the UK in 2006 to study Neuroscience at King’s College London.
Although a scientist by training I wanted to do something which had a more direct effect on people and decided after 10 years to leave London and work for the NHS. This has brought me to Manchester where I am now working at the Christie Hospital as part of a bigger department which runs clinical trials. Through these trials we aim to support the development of new treatment options for our cancer patients.
I love cooking and trying new cuisines and have tried my hand at British, Japanese, Korean, Indian, West African and Fijian dishes; although my absolute favourite is Chinese and particularly dumplings of which I eat far too many.
Due to COVID-19 our daily lives have changed dramatically. We are faced with a pandemic of unprecedented proportions which is putting a huge strain on our health care system. And on top of that we have to deal with the issues of a lockdown affecting people's mental health and ability to work. I really felt that this is the time where people have to work together to help each other and therefore volunteered locally to support my community.
The Ardwick and Longsight COVID-19 Mutual Aid Group have been fantastic. Working with so many people from different backgrounds has been a real pleasure and really opened my eyes to the many cultures around me. I have discovered whole new facets of my neighbourhood. To see how willing everyone is to spend their time and efforts allowing us to provide food packages to those in need is truly inspiring.
I am part of a team looking after the stock at our food hub at the ARMR store. We pack food packages and organise delivery to families in our catchment area. Hopefully through this we bring some normality to these crazy times and allow people to sit together over a family meal.
I hope that once travel restrictions are lifted, I can visit my Mum and brother back in Germany so we also can have a family meal together and just sit there and chat.
Meet Matt
I'm Matt, I'm 29 and a PhD student and teaching assistant at Manchester Metropolitan University.
I decided to get involved as I'm lucky enough to be in good health and therefore happy to help out where I can. I also have several elderly relatives that I would hope could receive the same assistance if they needed it.
I've been helping out with deliveries and also working on the phone line to take requests for food aid.
I've really enjoyed the sense of community that I've felt from the volunteer group and a sense of positivity in these tough times and see people so willing to help each other out.
Meet Jenna
I'm 35 living in Manchester City Centre and originally from Warrington. In my own time I love hiking in the lakes, yoga and travel holidays.
I usually work as a Customer Account Executive at a Managed Print and Document Services company. My role is to look after multiple key customer accounts, providing Managed Print and Document services, presenting analytical data and responding to escalations.
As a result of being put on Furlough leave due to Covid-19, I felt helpless and couldn’t sit at home doing nothing. I had this strong urge to help people in need and make good use of my time. I came across the advert for volunteers for Ardwick and Longsight and thought I would be close by enough and have enough skills and flexibility to support whenever there is a need.
So far during my time as a volunteer; I have delivered food parcels to multiple families; helped with the distribution and inventory of the food donations at the ARMR Store and West Gorton Community Centre; carried out a weekly role as a telephone volunteer responding to emergency requests for food; and most recently started taking on a digital role to help share what we have achieved and the stories of who is involved.
I have really enjoyed my experience so far. I found it a bit daunting at first because I had never volunteered before and was wary of the Covid risks and social distancing. However, the organisers and all the members of the group have made me feel very welcome and have been ever so supportive and understanding. It has been very inspiring to see how Councillors, Health and Community workers, Food providers, Charities, various other Partners and Volunteers have all come together to provide such rapid support for the families in need during this time.
I feel very proud to be a part of this group and I’ve learned that you can make anything happen when you come together with likeminded people.
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