Royal thank you to heroes of pandemic
VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE A MEMORABLE FROM QUEEN
THEY don’t do it for thanks or praise – but a ‘thank you’ from the Queen herself is something they’ll “treasure forever”.
When the pandemic hit, these four amazing North East volunteers were among the thousands who stepped up to help their community.
On Tuesday, Her Majesty the Queen, along with her daughterin-law the Duchess of Cornwall, joined a video call to share a message of thanks and hear about the work they’d been doing.
The four volunteers on the call were Sue Cadwallader, 54 from Northumberland; Tracy Clarke, 54 from Gateshead; Simon Holmes, 37 from Stockton-on-Tees and Anderson Akponeware, 42 from Middlesbrough.
The Queen told them: “I think it’s wonderful work. Thank you to everybody – and all the others too who have been volunteering. It has been a great help.”
Sue is a retired autism support worker with The Toby Henderson Trust, a role she started after visiting the charity’s Centre for Autism Development with her son Jack, who is himself autistic.
She has been a volunteer at Northumberland Good Neighbours Service since January 2020, starting her role driving people to and from the Rothbury social centre.
Pre-lockdown, the Rothbury centre was a place for people to come together, socialise and support one another.
During the pandemic, she’s been supporting two of the centre’s regulars with weekly telephone calls and support with tasks such as shopping and errands.
She has also been involved in the distribution of food hampers and Christmas gifts to the service’s clients last year.
Tracy has been volunteering with the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) for around two years, taking up volunteering after retiring from her 30-year career in the police service. She is a volunteer for Gateshead Home Library Service, delivering books to people unable to visit a library.
The service has become extra important during lockdown, helping those who are shielding and unable to leave home enjoy the welcome escape of a good book.
Tracy said: “Meeting Her Majesty and Her Royal Highness was a true honour. They were both very interested in what I had been doing and it was obvious that they have so much respect and admiration for volunteers.”
Simon and Anderson, from Teesside, are both NHS volunteers working with the “Check in and Chat” service for people who are vulnerable and isolated during the pandemic.
Anderson said: “When the call was made by the NHS and the RVS to support the vulnerable and those who were shielding, I didn’t think twice before signing up – so for close to a year now I’ve been a Check in and Chat volunteer.
“People have been living in their own small bubbles, and I wouldn’t have known how isolated those small bubbles could be until I took on this role.
“Volunteering is the most important gift we can give and it is something I will continue to do for the rest of my life.
“When I signed up to become a volunteer I never expected to speak to the Royal Family. This is something I will remember and treasure forever.”
Catherine Johnstone CBE, chief executive of RVS, added: “It is a real honour for our volunteers to speak to and be thanked by Her Majesty The Queen and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall.
“We are incredibly grateful to them both for taking the time to have this call. It was an incredibly special event.
“Volunteers across the country have done a phenomenal job in keeping our most vulnerable safe, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one who has stepped forward.”