Find organisations in your area  

Cheshire East Council, AGE UK Cheshire East and CVS Cheshire East have been working together to map existing organisations that are facilitating volunteer support to the public. 

The best way to engage is to link up with one of the organisations that are already established, this may be your local Town or Parish Council, or a community organisation.

Cheshire East Council has set up a scheme called People Helping People https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_information/coronavirus/cheshire-east-people-helping-people.aspx

For members of the public at most risk, being Shielded, the NHS Responders scheme will be offering practical support

Setting up a community response

• If there is nothing already established in your area, then we encourage you to start small. 
• Offer support to people that you know, your neighbours and friends.
• Open up your group to people that you know, to widen the reach and work together.
• Consider the potential risk if you open up your group to unknown volunteers and offering services on a scale that you cannot meet.
• If you want to formalise your group, then you need to have at least 3 people to act as trustees, and develop a constitution. CVS can help you with this.

Recruiting Volunteers

• Ask people to complete a registration form, confirming their name, address and why they want to volunteer.
• Check the volunteer's ID, preferably through a video call - confirm their adress (through a driving license, utility bill or other formal letter) and their photo ID (passwort, driving license) matches the volunteer. (CVS can help you with this - give us a call)
• If the volunteer is not already known to you, then try and take up at least 1 reference.
• Keep a record of all of your volunteers.

Communications

• Advertise an email address or phone number that people can contact you on (consider buying a pay as go mobile for this purpose).
• Advertise your support via Facebook and other social media, but also consider leaflets to reach those that are not IT savvy.
• Volunteers may become infected themselves or have to look after family members so they need to let you know asap.
• Ensure that all volunteers’ family have a number to contact you on in case of an emergency.
• Ensure that volunteers have some evidence of the task they have been asked to carry out – i.e  a Whatsapp or text message, an email, a note on headed paper – this can be shown to the police if asked why the volunteer is not in Lock-down. 

Tasks that volunteers could do

• Share information about local shops and services that will deliver to the door
• Pick up and deliver shopping or prescriptions. 
• Pick up post to go in the post box
• Ring people and have a chat over the phone or on an internet video call
• Walking people’s dogs
• Gardening

Data Protection - Updated 1st April

• Only collect the information that you need to collect.
• Tell people how you are keeping their data (CVS can provide a template privacy notice)
• Keep data secure- i.e. in a password-protected spreadsheet. Keep the number of people with access to the password to a minimum. Ensure that volunteers don’t ask devices to ‘remember password’. Change the password regularly, and if anyone with access to the password leaves your group.
• Avoid keeping paper documents
• Ask volunteers to sign up to a confidentiality and data protection policy (CVS can provide templates)
• Never publish personal information on public forums such as social media. These forums can be a vital way to connect people at this difficult time but keep any personal information to controlled, private forums such as Whatsapp groups and even then only if necessary. 
• The ICO has published a guide for community responses to enable them to consider what they need to record. https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2020/03/community-groups-and-covid-19/

Finances

• It is not appropriate for volunteers to accept credit/debit cards from people asking for help in order to buy resources on their behalf as this is a safeguarding risk.
• Avoid money changing hands if at all possible.  Encourage people to prepay for goods over the phone, and a trusted volunteer can simply deliver them to their homes. This is often possible with local independent shops.
• To reduce the risk of fraud, we recommend that wherever possible you do your shopping and come back with a receipt before asking for money from people in self-isolation. We also recommend that volunteers not make purchases larger than £30 for any one person or family in self-isolation.
• You should keep a central record of any payments made. There should also be a central record of any concerns raised in respect of payments, and make people aware of how they can raise a concern.
• Where possible payments should be made by bank transfer or PayPal to minimise the risk of passing on the virus, but if that’s not possible then you can disinfect any cash you receive using soapy water.
• CVS is looking into options for processing payments securely

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Safeguarding

• Ask each volunteer to complete an application form and ask to view ID.
• Take up at least 1 reference for volunteers by email or phone.
• DBS check volunteers if necessary (most roles will not require this - visit https://www.cvsce.org.uk/covid-19-cvs-dbs-check-support)
• Ensure that volunteers have read your volunteer handbook (including information about safeguarding policy, confidentiality, health and safety and other key policies) and have an understanding of what to do if they have a concern (CVS can provide a template).
• Consider having ID badges for volunteers to have so that people know who they are and in case stopped by Police.
• Keep a record of your volunteers, with alternative contact details for their next of kin in case of an emergency
• Ask volunteers to ‘pair up’ (preferably who don’t know each other), but maintain social distancing
• Volunteers must not enter someone’s home. Any deliveries must be placed on the doorstep, and any befriending must be through phone or video.

Infection Control

• Ensure that volunteers keep a suitable distance – do not enter people’s homes.
• If delivering leaflets, wash hands before and after. Do not lick fingers to separate, keep leaflets in a plastic wallet
• If delivering supplies, leave them on the doorstep, ring the bell and step 2 metres away. Wash hands before and after
• Consider providing Personal protective equipment, for example, disposable gloves.
• If volunteers have symptoms or feel unwell they should stop immediately. 

Insurance and Use of Car- Updated 

If you are using your own car for voluntary purposes to transport medicines or groceries to support others who are impacted by Covid-19, your cover will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover. This applies to all categories of NHS Volunteer Responders, including transporting patients, equipment, or other essential supplies.

"NHS Volunteer Responders and others who are volunteering to help their communities during the coronavirus outbreak do not need to contact their insurer to update their documents or extend their cover, the ABI has said. The reminder comes as over half a million people have signed up to be NHS Volunteer Responders." See the ABI website for further information 

If you are managing a scheme you may wish to ask to see a valid driving licence and MOT to ensure that the volunteer is safe when driving.