BEVERLEY COMMUNITY LIFT

Beverley Community Lift

BCL provides assistance for vulnerable people who can’t normally access transport for shopping and attending medical or social commitments. A dedicated team of volunteers provides this support and has done so for 50 years in the Beverley area and along the A1079 corridor in East Yorkshire to Stamford Bridge. There are a few paid staff at Beverley Community Lift, although they are all currently working from home as are some of the office-based volunteers, so everyone has adapted. It is the flexibility and kindness that impresses me so much about the team. All of the team have not yet met all the volunteers who support Beverley Community Lift but the fact that they have all been prepared to do what they can to help the locality is testament to this organisation. There are volunteers who go shopping for those that can’t, probably up to 15 of our clients. Phone calls are being made every week to the 200+ client base to give them social contact, and drivers are now taking people to medical appointments once again. At the same time, the revenue levels for BCL have dropped sharply - the temporary closure of its sole charity shop being a factor - and a volunteer has been applying for grants to help the financial future of the organisation. BCL has supported the Beverley Community Hub and the COVID-19 group in the town. It isn’t quite the 50^th anniversary celebration that BCL had planned, but it started as a neighbourhood support group in Beverley, working in community partnership, and the need has not diminished. The pandemic shows how much its service is integral to society.