A VOLUNTEER group in Pill is delivering food parcels and activity packs to residents during the coronavirus lockdown, in the latest example of communities pulling together in this time of adversity.
Pill Unity’s free activity packs – for local families and people aged 60 or over – contain craft kits, sketching and painting supplies, puzzles, and games.
"We knew the implications of the enforced social isolation and having to stay at home could lead to boredom and frustration for many Pill families and residents,” Pill Unity member Julie Fish said. “We wanted to try and provide a bit of cheer and reinstate some of the famous Pill community spirit.”
Other support services for residents includes support for prescriptions and medicine delivery, as well as advice on housing, employment, education, and financial issues.
A weekly food parcel service is up and running at the Pill Millennium Centre, led by Newport City Council’s Central Hub staff and Pill Unity members.
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The volunteer group is part of the Invest Local programme, which works with deprived communities throughout Wales. Pill Unity set aside £10,000 of its funding to create the coronavirus community support network.
The aim was to "reinstate some community spirit and to put some smiles on the faces of the people of Pill at a very difficult time,” Mrs Fish said.
The volunteers – comprising Mrs Fish, Alison Stewart, Jayne Lewis, and Reggie Al-haddi – have also delivered packs to the neighbourhood’s care homes and assisted living accommodation in Capel Grange, Capel Court, Spring Gardens, Tredegar Court, and Trinity Court.
The Royal Gwent Hospital’s children’s ward received 20 activity packs for young people, and the group is currently giving out 500 packs for local families.
Grateful parents have responded with messages of thanks to Pill Unity for the “fantastic idea”, which has left their children “over the moon” and “super excited”.
And one Capel Court resident sent Pill Unity a thank you note, saying: “It’s at times like this you realise how lovely people really are”.
Mrs Fish said the feedback to date had been “amazing” and “to see so many happy, smiling children and older people has been the outcome we hoped to achieve”.
Other partners in the Pill community support network include the Pill Millennium Centre, the city council’s Central Hub, and care and supported living organisation Pobl.
The scheme has received extra funding from the Wales Coronavirus Resilience Fund, run by Community Foundation Wales; the Tesco Bags of Help Covid-19 Communities Fund, and the Voluntary Services Emergency Fund.
Driving school M4Motoring is helping deliver food parcels to those unable to leave their homes.
Pill residents who are eligible for an activity pack but have not yet received one can contact Pill Unity by calling 08081 963482, emailing info@pillunity.com or visiting the group's Facebook page at www.tinyurl.com/pillunity
Anyone interested in volunteering with Pill Unity should contact Zunaira Hassan on 07736 158 828 or email zunaira.hassan@bct.wales
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