‘At-risk’ Red Cross veteran volunteers for vital phone line
VOLUNTEER Tony Peake has helped the Red Cross for nearly 50 years and is now using his skills to support vulnerable people during the pandemic.
Tony, 72, is frustrated that he cannot physically help others as he needs to stay home to keep himself safe. So instead he is doing whatever he can over the phone – offering advice and reassurance to hundreds who are in need.
The Daily Express is working with the British Red Cross on our Kindness Will Keep Us Together crusade to build an army of volunteers.
It is one of the most important campaigns in our proud history, and we’re appealing to you, our extraordinary readers, to lend a hand to those in need right now.
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You do not need any special skills, just a little bit of kindness in your heart.
Before the Covid-19 outbreak, first-aider Terry’s role included helping people when they were discharged from hospital.
He said: “I’ve got the skills to talk to people and make that little bit of difference. Even though I’m 72, there’s no reason why I can’t pick up food and deliver it. I’m fit and well so it’s frustrating.
“But instead, I’ll be getting a list of phone numbers [of vulnerable people] and ringing them up for health and welfare checks, making sure they’re OK and they’re safe and they have food and heating.
“I also like to ask if they’ve got any ideas of what they’d like to do and generally chat to them if it’s just a chat they want.
“Loneliness can cause mental issues. It does affect you mentally when you can’t help somebody.
So I am hoping to be able to listen to these people and talk to them and see what their needs are and give them some advice on how to stay well and look after themselves and do little exercises.”
Tony and his wife Margaret, 73, who live in Haslington, Cheshire, hope they can inspire others to join our crusade. Tony said: “A little bit of kindness costs nothing. I hope everybody stays safe and is kind to one another. That’s what we really need right now.”
We need your support more than ever to help us aid some of the most vulnerable in society.
British Red Cross community reserve volunteers are a network of people ready to help in any way needed. T here has been a huge surge in volunteer numbers over the past few weeks.
Your help could be as simple as sharing tips on Facebook or helping at your local foodbank. It only takes five minutes to make a huge difference.