Larne and Newtownabbey volunteers praised for Covid response

The Ordinary People – Extraordinary Times photographic series celebrates the volunteers of the pandemic.

The series was organised by Volunteer Now, the lead organisation for promoting and supporting volunteering in Northern Ireland.

With lockdown restrictions leaving many vulnerable people isolated, people across Co Antrim stepped up to provide support to those in need, with the help of Northern Ireland’s leading volunteering charity, Volunteer Now.

Siobhan Rocks, Volunteer Co-Ordinator of FareShare NI, based in Mallusk, said: “FareShare NI is dedicated to tackling food waste in Northern Ireland, during April, May and June we changed the delivery model to enable us to deliver 165,000 tonnes of nutritious food to provide meals to those families most in need.

“Volunteer Now was a real lifeline for us – without their help in connecting us with additional, local volunteers, we simply would not have been able to meet the demand. I’m very proud of all of our volunteers for stepping up and using their spare time to help others during the pandemic.”

Larne Lough councillor Gregg McKeen detailed the effort put in by local residents who volunteered their time with Millbrook Community Centre.

The DUP representative said: “Millbrook Community Centre is a fantastic group and during the lockdown period they were on the frontline, delivering essential items such as food parcels, medicine and a friendly face to vulnerable, shielding members of the local community.

“People in the community really wanted to help as they knew how difficult it has been for those who were shielding. Our volunteers went above and beyond in reassuring shielding members of the community that they weren’t alone.”

Denise Hayward, Chief Executive Officer of Volunteer Now explains: “In the 10 years that Volunteer Now has been established in Northern Ireland, the Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly been our greatest challenge. We are immensely proud of the work of the volunteers in helping to navigate this crisis.

“We want to ensure the efforts of Northern Ireland’s volunteering community are acknowledged and recorded for future generations as they look back on this unprecedented period of time.

“As such, we have embarked upon a photography project over the last number of months to capture volunteers in action at a time when ordinary people became extraordinary community heroes.

“We are delighted to now launch ‘Ordinary People – Extraordinary Times Photographic Series’ and provide a first glimpse of some of the striking images of the wonderful volunteers in action.

“The series is a fantastic testament to the spirit and generosity of the people of Northern Ireland and is our way of saying a huge thank you to the dedicated volunteers who continue to make Northern Ireland a better place.”

Communities Minister Carál Ní Chuilín added: “I am delighted that this photographic series has captured the efforts of the thousands of volunteers, who have been true heroes throughout the crisis, and have selflessly given their time to benefit others.

“Throughout the pandemic I have been truly heartened by the generosity and wonderful sense of community displayed in every corner of our society where people from all walks of life stepped forward to help. I have no doubt anyone who views the series online will feel a sense of pride in all our volunteer’s efforts.”

The full set of images from the ‘Ordinary People – Extraordinary Times Photographic Series’ are available to download as an e-book via the Volunteer Now website www.volunteernow.co.uk/volunteering/helpeachother/ordinary-people-extraordinary-times/Volunteer Now also plans to launch the full photographic series as a regional photography exhibition across each county in the coming months, in association with local councils, when safe to do so.

--

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you.