ENJOYING THE COUNTRYSIDE DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Please remember that farms are workplaces where farmers are busy producing the great British food we all want to buy in the shops right now. Many farmers are older and at particular risk from Covid-19, so please maintain social distancing requirements - particularly where footpaths go near or through farmyards. Lambs and calves arrive in the spring so please take extra care if you are walking your dog.

keep dogs on leads near stock
clean up after your pet
keep calm around cattle
follow the Country Code

HAWKHURST COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUP NEWS

22 March 2020

Under the auspices of the Parish Council, we are setting up arrangements to co-ordinate and support the volunteer effort in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. This is necessary because, while the current informal arrangements under which volunteers do shopping for those in isolation are working well, they are unlikely to be able to cope with the forecast scale of demand as increasingly large numbers of residents go into isolation.
We have already set up a Reference Group comprising representatives of the local organisations whose involvement in the scheme will be essential, including the manager of Tesco. We also have a high-level plan for how the scheme will work. We now want to set up a small Co-ordinating Group to manage the scheme on a day-to-day basis. We are hoping to hold the first meeting of the Group on Wednesday 25th March.
We are now recruiting for the following volunteer appointments. All applicants must be under 70 years of age, in good health and able to spare the time - meaning at least a couple of hours a day in the early phases. We'll set up job-share arrangements if the need arises

23 March 2020

We hope to have the group up and running by the end of the week. In the meantime, it would speed our work if we started with as many leads as possible to both volunteers and potential clients (ie those in need of assistance) of the scheme.

Anyone who is already helping people with their shopping, collecting prescriptions etc, or is interested in doing so, please register using this link:

https://bit.ly/Hawkhurstvolunteers

Anyone who would like to register for a volunteer to do their shopping or collect prescriptions, please register using this link:

https://bit.ly/Hawkhurstsupport

If you know of anyone in either category who does not have access to email, please feel free to register on their behalf, with their consent.

27 March 2020

A big shout out to all those involved in the Hawkhurst Community Support Group (HCSG). Everyone has worked so hard and with such diligence, we now have an effective community support group to assist those who need help during this time. Thank you also to the army of leaflet distributors for their efforts today and tomorrow.

If you wish to volunteer, please register here: