Life in Furlough – Supporting your Local and National Community

Like many individuals spanning all sectors across the UK, following the government’s recent legislative employment announcement, you may well now find yourself in an unprecedented state of furlough. You’re fortunate enough to have future job security with your current employer, but suddenly find yourself with much more unexpected free time, at least for the foreseeable future. So, what now?
You may well be one of the many who are keen to use this period to give back and offer up your time and service to a local or national volunteering project, and there are certainly plenty to choose from.
If, like us at SimkissGuy Recruitment, you are passionate about your city and are looking for a way to support the Birmingham and West Midlands region, then there are a number of initiatives to get involved with. There have been countless local community COVID-19 support groups established, aimed to connect those (in line with established social isolation requirements) in society who are more vulnerable or susceptible, with fit and healthy individuals, dedicating their time to go shopping and deliver essential everyday items to homes – working collaboratively to ensure everyone has all they need to live comfortably during this unusual times.
Well-known and established charity, LoveBrum, is one close to our hearts and was created with the sole purpose to support local, grassroots community-led charitable projects, working to make their local areas a better place for all. We’ve heard on the grapevine that the team at LoveBrum HQ have something special planned which they’re launching next month and will be reaching out across the region with a campaign that everyone can get behind. Keep your eyes peeled! Equally, they are also great at providing local initiatives a platform, so if you’re interested in researching if there any charitable groups in your area looking for volunteers then simply head to their website – lovebrum.org.uk or take a look at their social media pages.
At a national level, there have been a number of high-profile volunteering campaigns launched in the past few days. Most notably is the government’s recruitment announcement for 250,000 NHS Volunteers from all across the UK to support medical staff on the frontline and ensure they have all the necessary equipment they need in their fight against the coronavirus. This may be the initiative which really speaks to you and applications to sign up as a volunteer can be found here – goodsamapp.org/NHSvolunteerresponders. It’s worth noting here that, incredibly, just 24 hours after the volunteer launch, an amazing 405,000 of you signed up: more than the total population of the city of Coventry. A truly remarkable and uplifting figure.
So, whether it’s at a local or national level, there are plenty of opportunities to put your life in furlough to good use through volunteering and giving back, helping and supporting both each other and our shared communities during these unparalleled times.