Ged’s Army

A message from the newly-formed Geddington Support Group.

To coincide today with the first effective day of COVID-19 preparedness lock-down, and after a week or so of planning, community leaders have come together to produce a village-wide consolidated support initiative.

Owing to a number of residents generously stepping forward, every street has a Street Coordinator, who will try and ensure the more vulnerable – or those with emerging needs – are identified and paired off with other helpers who can support them. A leaflet should be delivered to every house in the next 24-48hrs. If any resident is feeling unsure who might be able to help, PLEASE reach out to your Coordinator, another helper, other resident, Parish Councillor or other community/group leader.

Additionally, there is now a separate Facebook group – the Geddington Support Group – where ideas, initiatives, identified needs and solutions, will be discussed. 

The Church, Parish Council, Geddington Volunteer Fire Brigade, Borough Councillor and other leaders and groups have come together and are regularly discussing the priorities of residents during these challenging times. As was expected, there have been many offers of help from all corners of the village – from dog walking, shopping, minor jobs, book swaps, taking bins out or just someone to talk to.  Amazing!

Let’s keep talking to one another, and smiling as much as possible. Everyone will be affected by this crisis, including in our village:

• Our elderly and vulnerable. Let’s keep a special eye, a cheery wave and a knock on the door or a note every couple of days.
• Our essential workers. We have some heroes in our village who will suddenly be working longer hours under considerable stress and juggling family commitments. Let’s support them by taking any burden we can and allowing them to rest between shifts.
• Our outlets and tradespeople. These will be especially hit, so if they can offer a varied or ‘business as usual’ service, please consider them.
• Our parents. With schools closed to non-essential workers, many parents are having to work from home whilst caring for and home teaching of, their children. This can be quite a trying time for families.
• Our institutions.  The Church and School Parents Association will see a natural drop in income through events and activities. Please consider donations or doubling your support once the main crisis is over.

Material and practical needs can be overcome by working together, but with congregating practically banned, let’s also consider that some of our community may start to feel isolated and anxious over the next few weeks. Our mental wellness is just as much a consideration as the physical, so whilst it was a buzz phrase in the recent past, let’s simply ‘be kind’ to one another.

Contacts:
Geddington Support Group
by email: geddington.neighbours@gmail.com
Borough Councillor, Mark Rowley:
by email: markrowley@kettering.gov.uk
by phone: 01536 744302
Parish Chairman, Nick Batchelor
by email: nickbatchelor76@hotmail.com
by phone: 669533
Vicar, Revd Gillian Gamble
by phone: 742200
by email: vicar@geddingtonweekleychurch.org.uk
or
Penny Griffin, Licensed Lay Minister
by phone, 07990 521830
GVFB Community Officer, James McLean
by email: mcleanrocks@hotmail.com

PS: