THIS WAS OUR CHANCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

When all this is over and the world has returned to some semblance of normality, survivors will broadly fall into two camps. On the one hand, those who thought only of themselves, selfishly raiding supermarket shelves, stockpiling mountains of food in deep freezers, buying up household essentials to sell on at inflated prices and generally doing everything to safeguard their own derrieres at the expense of the old and the weak.

Those who saw opportunity in other people’s misery, from the boss of Sports Direct who, having dithered about closing his shops, then finally did so only to hike up prices online, to the irresponsible self-publicists and propagandists stirring up fear and panic on social media for their own advancement.

On the other hand, a very different breed of human: Those who stepped up to the plate – and put their backs into fighting the spread of this virus and helping safeguard others more at risk than themselves.

It goes without saying that I’m talking about those on the very sharp end of the battle to defeat Covid-19: doctors, nurses, NHS workers.

But also supermarket staff, pharmacists, carers, delivery drivers, community leaders and more.

People like my local family-run Italian restaurant, Il Portico, which has been in business since 1967 and which, as soon as the order came to close its doors, switched to delivering food and sanitary items at cost price to vulnerable local residents.

People of all political stripes and persuasions, like the budget food blogger Jack Monroe, who has been working around the clock devising ingenious online recipes for people struggling to get their usual ingredients; like the fitness coach Joe Wicks, leading the nation every morning in online Pe lessons; the rugby ace Maxime Mbanda, working 13-hour ambulance shifts. Countless examples of individuals, groups and businesses pulling together to help others through this crisis.

When we look back on these extraordinary, terrifying times, I want to be among that number. To feel that, in whatever small way, I made a difference and maybe even helped save lives.

After all, it’s the least I can do. Like most of my generation, I am lucky enough to have got to the ripe old age of 53 without experiencing anything like the kinds of sacrifices my grandparents had to suffer.

Sure, my life has had its ups and downs and challenges, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s been a charmed existence.

I don’t want to just stand by and watch others deal with this nightmare; I want to make myself useful in whatever way I can, whether that be transporting food and medicine or offering guidance and support to people over the phone. This is our war, our chance to give back. We must grasp it.

Which is why the second the health Secretary Matt hancock issued a call to arms for 250,000 volunteers to help support NHS staff and services, I signed up straight away. It took less than five minutes to add my name to the list of NHS Volunteer Responders at www.goodsamapp.org.

And I would urge you, dear reader, if you are willing and able, to do the same.

not least because the idea was, in part, inspired by the extraordinary voluntary contribution already made to the NHS via the Daily Mail’s hospital helpforce campaign, launched in December 2018.

Backed by, among others, the then prime minister Theresa May and the Archbishop of Canterbury and supported by the Royal College of nursing and the medical union Unison, the campaign prompted a huge response from readers, who responded in their droves.

Thousands of you pledged support and went on to join your local trusts in voluntary roles, from helping out in minor operations to manning the phones or making tea on the wards.

That campaign was started to help bolster an NHS that was already struggling to meet increasing demand.

Who could have imagined that, less than two years on, we would find ourselves facing an even greater challenge?

every offer of assistance, great or small, helps take the pressure off frontline NHS staff, not only allowing them to do their jobs more efficiently but also – crucially – giving them a much-needed break.

This new call to action hoped to boost numbers to 250,000 – but we have already reached 500,000 and counting.

That’s because, while it is true that there is a nasty element in this country – as in any other – who couldn’t give a fig for anyone apart from themselves, the reality is the majority of Britons are pretty damn decent.

The idiots get disproportionate attention and airtime precisely because their behaviour is so shocking to the rest of us. But for every selfish oaf, there are ten times as many sane, humane and intelligent people who understand what’s at stake here. We are the silent, sensible majority. This is our chance to make a difference.