Council and voluntary sector leaders celebrated a pioneering COVID-19 befriending project at a celebration event held for volunteers.
Rotherham based voluntary organisation, Rotherfed, who were nominated by the Council won the Richard Crossley Excellence in Community Action Award at the TPAS Virtual Awards ceremony last October. Due to the high number of COVID-19 cases at the time, the Rotherham celebration event was deferred to this month. The Council’s Housing team presented the award to Rotherfed staff and volunteers involved in the project at the Riverside House event.
Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Amy Brookes, and Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, Cllr David Sheppard, were also in attendance, along with Public Health.
Rotherfed won the prestigious award for the Friendship Calls Project, which was set up at the height of the pandemic to support some of the most vulnerable residents who struggled to cope with loneliness and isolation which has led to lifechanging outcomes for tenants and residents.
In March 2020, Rotherham Community Hub (RCH) was established by the Council in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The purpose of this was to provide support to residents across Rotherham who had in any way been impacted by the pandemic.
Since the project began in April 2020, Rotherfed has supported 580 Rotherham residents and trained 98 volunteers who are currently making calls to 160 vulnerable residents. As a result of the friendship phone calls, Rotherfed has received additional funding from Rotherham Council, National Lottery Fund, Tudor Trust, and the Council so they can continue to make a positive difference.
Rotherfed’s CEO, Phil Hayes, said: “We are delighted to have received the Excellence in Community Action Award. It is great recognition for our team who have worked immensely hard over the course of the pandemic and continue to provide support to the vulnerable residents across the borough.”
Rotherham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Amy Brookes, said: “This award is greatly deserved to the team at Rotherfed who played a critical role in the response to the pandemic. It was poignant and uplifting to hear of residents who were initially receiving the calls become confident enough to be volunteers themselves to help those who were in a similar situation to them previously. This is a credit to the team at Rotherfed.”
The TPAS Awards are dedicated to recognising and rewarding engagement excellence and best practice within the Housing sector.