Community spirit in Avoca
AS Covid-19 restrictions ease, Covid-19 volunteers in Avoca will continue to remain active.
Avoca is a village with a lively community spirit in the best of times, so it is perhaps unsurprising that within 24 hours of the Covid-19 lockdown announcement in March, a huge number of people had volunteered their time and assistance to anybody who needed help.
Bernie Ivers and Mary Bolger lead the Avoca Tidy Towns group in the village. They have more than 2,000 followers on their Facebook page and, as Bernie explained, it was easy to get the call out quickly.
There was an overwhelming response, with offers of help from residents, the GAA club, Avoca Juvenile Camogie, Avoca Scouts and the Avoca Senior Citizens Committee, among others. Bernie liaised with the HSE, Arklow Meals on Wheels and co-ordinated the volunteers.
A list was drawn up of vulnerable people in the village. Working with Arklow Meals-onWheels, the volunteers started to deliver meals to people who were cocooning.
Initially they were delivering to 15 people, but this grew to 32. Meals were provided seven days a week for 10 weeks. Thanks to generous donations, these meals were delivered for free.
Volunteers also worked with Arklow Community Resource Centre to provide food parcels to families.
A host of activities were carried out by volunteers during the lockdown. Over Easter, chocolate eggs were donated and delivered to residents, along with letters written by local children. Cakes were baked and delivered. As well as this, groceries and prescriptions were dropped to front doors.
Mary ran a paper round, delivering newspapers every morning to cocooners. Of course, as well as the practical help, the volunteers provided social support because they were often the only face the cocooners might see each day.
As the restrictions ease, some activities such as Meals on Wheels will stop, however, the Covid-19 volunteers will remain active. Food parcels will also continue to be delivered to those in need.
Looking back on the past 10 weeks, Bernie says that nobody in the village became ill with Covid-19 and that is the true measure of the volunteers’ success. She also notes that the whole experience has had real benefits for the community, bringing everybody closer together with the shared goal of looking out for one another. This is hopefully something that can be built on when the current crisis is over. Thanks were also extended to the volunteers involved.
Anybody wishing to contact the Avoca volunteers can call Bernie on 087 1457973 or Mary on 087 9387871.