Staff and volunteers from Wakefield Trinity Community Foundation are joining together to support elderly and vulnerable supporters who face an extended period of isolation during the coronavirus outbreak.
The ‘Connect’ project will not only support the Covid-19 relief efforts in the district but also provide employment for the Foundation’s self-employed sports coaches who now find themselves without income due to the closure of schools to non-keyworker children and third party organisations such as the Foundation.
Health & Wellbeing Manager, Darren Dean, said: “Many people are struggling at the moment during this extended period of self-isolation and our Connect scheme aims to reach out to as many vulnerable adults as possible.
“We have a list of 514 supporters on the ‘Connect’ call system and each staff member will work through the list that they have been provided with, offering support through a friendly chat and, if necessary, signposting to one of the many support services within the Wakefield district.
“I am immensely proud of how we, as a Club and Foundation, have responded and we will continue to look at how we can expand the scheme to reach as many of our older supporters as possible.”
In addition to the regular calls, Trinity will aim to connect with current and former players as part of a ‘Zoom’ call experience that can be accessed via the Zoom App or website.
Darren Dean added: “During the current crisis we have seen an upturn in moving projects to a digital online format with many of our existing projects available to access via our YouTube channel. We want to keep people moving of all abilities and we are working hard to tailor content that will achieve that, for those who wish to participate.”
“We are embedded into our local community and it is vital we show people we genuinely care about them during a tough period. We are all in this together.”
Supporters who receive a phone call from the club are advised that callers will never ask for personal information such as a home address, date of birth or bank details.
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