During November, Briggs encouraged staff to get involved with performing a charitable act and for each good deed the business would donate £1,000 to a charity of that person’s choice. For Angela, it was Macmillan Cancer Support who supported her family during her father’s passing. This donation will go towards Macmillan’s incredible work in providing physical, financial and emotional help to people living with Cancer.
Following the Coronavirus outbreak and the first national lockdown, loneliness amongst people of all ages has been on the rise. Suddenly the ability to meet up with friends, family and colleagues was taken away and many people across the country were alone in their homes with nobody to interact with.
The impact of loneliness on people’s mental health has been highlighted by charities, and to help counteract this issue the NHS set up the ‘Check in and Chat’ volunteering service. This involved members of the public signing up to provide simple yet vital phone support to people who may be at heightened risk of loneliness. One of those volunteers was our very own Angela Smith, who signed up to the scheme during furlough in April and has continued to participate.
Angela commented on the importance of the scheme, her experiences whilst volunteering and the reasons why she chose Macmillan Cancer Support as her chosen charity.
“During April I saw on TV that the NHS were launching various volunteering initiatives. Amongst the various schemes, the Check in and Chat role was the one that I really wanted to get involved with.
“After completing the sign-up process, I started to receive requests via the NHS app and began making around two calls a week to people who were struggling with loneliness. As the restrictions eased there was less demand, but it’s been picking up quite drastically recently and during the latest November lockdown I was making at least one call each day.
“It’s been a very rewarding experience and I’ve been able to have conversations with people from all across the country who have been going through a difficult time. One of the main things I’ve learned is that something as simple as a quick ‘hello, how are you’ can make a real difference to somebody’s day.
“Macmillan Cancer Support is a charity very close to my heart and their work to support people going through such an awful experience is incredible. I’ve experienced first-hand the value of their work and hopefully this donation from Briggs can go a long way towards helping others.”
Pictured: Angela Smith during a previous Macmillan Cancer Support fundraising event.