The COVID-19 pandemic and the different variations of lockdown have meant that a lot of services and organisations are either temporarily closed or that they are not taking on new volunteers. During this time, VAL has recruited over 2000 volunteers to help out in the crisis.
Many of our existing volunteers have had to switch their roles from the ones which they applied for, to generic emergency response volunteering. Joanne was one of many people who came forward to offer support as a volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic as her regular volunteering role was put on hold. We were able to offer Joanne the role as a Journey Maker Volunteer.
This role is based at the Leicester train station. It involves helping people to navigate the new one way systems, reminding and encouraging passengers to use face coverings (in line with government advice) inside the station and offering guidance to people coming in and out of the station by, reassuring passengers and answering their questions.
Joanne commented:
‘It’s all going well – no problems at all! Most people have their masks on to be honest or just don’t realise they need to wear them in the station as well as on the trains. The staff have been fine – transport police have spent time chatting to me too. All good!!’
Get in touch
If you are interested in becoming a Journey Maker volunteer or volunteering in general, find out more by search our current opportunities online: volunteerleicestershire.org.uk