The Reverend Roger Driver, vicar of St Michael’s Without and Trustee of the B&NES Third Sector Group, has called on the people of Bath to step up support for local charities.
He made the remarks whilst in conversation with Bath MP Wera Hobhouse about the importance of community during the current coronavirus crisis, and beyond.
BaNES 3SG led the way in recruiting thousands of volunteers and partnering with B&NES Council and Virgin Health Care to create the Community Hub hotline which has helped 5,000 residents during the lockdown.
In a wide-ranging conversation about the COVID-19 crisis, Roger said: “One thing we learnt from lockdown is that a lot of charities lost many of their volunteers. A lot of them are in their seventies.
“Now we need to do a really big shout out to the people of Bath. If you’re not in one of those vulnerable groups, there are organisations that are going to need volunteers to help restart projects and work.”
Speaking on the third episode of ‘Wera Meets…’, Roger recounted his experiences of urban regeneration.
He predicts that the road to recovery may be difficult and requires strong leadership from politicians and community leaders.
He added: “We can all work together on this, in terms of supporting the charity sector, and where it’s possible, in someone’s lifestyle and their work, whether it be a weekend or an evening, where they can volunteer, that would be a really good thing to do.
“We can really encourage people to step up and make a difference.”
The Bath MP is continuing her series of online public meetings with “Black Lives in Bath: A Community Conversation hosted by Wera Hobhouse MP” on Wednesday evening 24th June.
Wera’s previous guests include Prof Sue Rigby and Dr Bharat Pankhania. The full recording with Rev Roger Driver can be viewed here.
