This morning I marked Volunteers’ Week by visiting Whiteley Village in Walton, helping to deliver lunch to the elderly residents.
Whiteley Village was originally set up a long time ago to look after some of the most disadvantaged elderly people in the area. It’s a great place for local people to retire to, where they can receive nursing care if they need it and benefit from the fantastic community spirit and rapport between the staff, volunteers and other residents.
Today, I joined staff and other volunteers to serve up and deliver fish and chips to many of the residents. It was a good opportunity to meet them and hear their stories – including Roy, who was on the Normandy beaches at the time of the D-Day landings.
This visit was also a reminder of the hard work that volunteers across Elmbridge have put in throughout the pandemic. I’ve seen hundreds of local residents going above and beyond, whether assisting at vaccination centres, helping the homeless, or delivering food, prescriptions and other essentials to the vulnerable.
Volunteers’ Week is the time to say thank you to all of these people. They’ve helped to get us through the worst of the pandemic, and are a core part of the strong community spirit that we have in Elmbridge.