‘Volunteering is so important’

• CORONAVIRUS Covid-19 has bought out the best in our society.

An army of folk help others by volunteering in many capacities, from food banks to talking to an elderly person, community projects, and more.

We must remember that the hardship brought on by poverty and loneliness very much exists.

Esther Rantzen and Joan Bakewell, two local residents, have spoken passionately, about their concerns of isolation and loneliness of the elderly.

It’s easy for all of us to get taken up with our own lives but a chat outside a window or a phone call for 10 minutes helps the mind focus on the here and now and not negatively.

A journalist, Harry Taylor, I would meet on Hampstead Heath while having a coffee with a friend who volunteered every morning to be with me.

Harry was giving out scrubs to staff at The Royal Free Hospital and Leila Roy understood the need I had to leave my darling husband with his carer at home, for an hour. One hour away from the situation and I was ready for the day.

For many volunteering is a lifeline and people within the group support each other as they work on a shared project.

And in many cases it almost doesn’t matter what that volunteering is. It’s the sheer act of coming together to work to a given goal.

You see it at the Royal Free Hospital. We visit there often. Folk who have volunteered for years and commit to time every week are almost a family.

There are many groups like this throughout Camden and wouldn’t it be good to hear about them?

My husband and I organised the Royal Free Hospital land on Pond Street, with other volunteers, to produce the lovely space you see now. And the group supported us when my husband was suddenly taken ill two years ago.

I have become aware that our children are suffering from isolation through the Covid-19 pandemic too.

They have learned to isolate without the routine of going to school and seeing their friends – and not to engage with anyone outside their families.

That’s the reason I have decorated the outside of my home this year to bring a smile to their faces. And it does.

Even the parents who wave through our window and make my husband and I laugh. Doing something so simple can give joy to many.

LINDA GROVE,
NW3