Northampton charity that has completed 1,100 shopping trips for isolated residents need financial help

Volunteer, Simon, is pictured loading up the minibus to shop for those in isolation during lockdown.

In the past eight weeks, Northampton Community Transport has completed over 1,100 lifeline shopping trips and collected 29 monthly prescriptions for isolated people in Northampton as part of their voluntary door-to-door scheme.

Every household the drivers shop for is offered ongoing support and contacted on a weekly basis to check if they need anything further, which includes more than 50 support referrals from the borough council.

As Government guidance has recently changed, with some small changes to the movement of people, they have prepared for a potential increase in passenger requests for actual journeys and need help funding PPE to keep drivers and passengers safe.

Volunteer Belinda pictured holding shopping bags for those she was delivering to.

This extra cost for hand gels, gloves, sanitisers, and face coverings for the safety of staff, is difficult to raise at a time when their income is greatly reduced, transport manager Sally Jones said.

Now, they are making an urgent call for financial help or donations that are essential to ensure they can continue to provide the vital service for as long as possible to their 1,500 registered passengers and others who need help.

She added: "We are proud to continue to support the local community by adapting our community transport service in this way.

"Our fantastic team is dedicated to doing everything they can to help those who need us the most, at this critical time, and we are appealing for any donations to help us maintain this service."

To make a difference - you can call 01604 587733 or email [email protected] or pledge a financial donation by clicking here.