Volunteering The last year has been one of challenges and new beginnings for our volunteers and we can’t wait to welcome them back to Devon Air Ambulance

COVID

&Challenges NEW Beginnings

Devon Air Ambulance relies on over 650 loyal volunteers to support our fundraising eff orts, but they have all been stood-down this past year due to the pandemic. Events have been cancelled, shops which were once vibrantly open, now closed and community talks postponed. Volunteer Manager Cara Jones tells us what our volunteers have been up to in the last year, and former DAA patient and long-standing volunteer, Richard Lappas, refl ects on his lockdown journey.

Ireturned to my role as Volunteer Manager in February 2021, having spent last year on maternity leave, with the desire to call each and every volunteer to check on their wellbeing. I was touched to hear so many willing volunteers just waiting for the day they will be called to action in support of Devon Air Ambulance once more. But faced with these challenging times and three separate lockdowns, our volunteers found new ways to occupy their time while they waited to be called forward once more.

Some have learnt a new language or brushed up on languages they once spoke. Our creatives took up their paintbrushes, pencils and clay and produced beautiful paintings, drawings and intricate models. Photographers captured the stunning Devon landscapes, while the avid walkers hiked. Finding jobs around the house meant lists to complete and gardens to tend too. When bubbles were introduced, families reunited, and grandchildren fi lled the houses with delight once more. Companions and household pets comforted people in times of isolation, neighbours helped each other and people clapped for the NHS on a Thursday night.

We would like to take this o ortunity to thank a our volunt rs for their continued su ort through th unpr dented times. We may not be able to be side by side at the moment, but together we can sti achi gr t things!

Richard’s personal lockdown journey

A year ago, a quick glance at the diary showed days fairly full with various meetings, appointments and a healthy smattering of DAA dates covering talks at a village WI, a cheque to collect at the local tea ladies’ association and a windy day out at a local show, stopping the gazebo panels from fl apping up and away into the bright blue sky.

But a year later, how things have changed and how they are continuing to change.

Everybody is on the phone or talking in front of a screen, typing and perhaps eating one too many biscuits with their tea! The DAA red volunteer shirts seem to have disappeared from sight and our shops are empty. No meetings, no talks, no WI fl ower competitions to judge, no cheques to pick up and certainly no days out to meet and greet our ever supportive general public. So a new word fi nds its way into the newspapers and onto TV and Radio as ‘lockdown’ becomes the next buzzword to sit alongside COVID, Coronavirus and Zoom! A regular call to the DAA head offi ce (only it isn’t because everyone is working from home!) to say “Hello I’m available, anything going on” is met with a quiet “I wish there was but everything is cancelled”

It took a few weeks to really sink in that everything that was once normal is now no longer normal. But, despite so much of normal society being closed or changed over the last twelve months, the good news was that our helicopters kept fl ying and continued to provide lifesaving emergency care across the county. Three national lockdowns later and, as we approach the summer this year, hopes are raised with the vaccine roll-out and as national lockdown restrictions look to ease (but probably with masks, gloves and social distancing still in the mix). I am sure we are all pleased that life, albeit slowly, seems to edging back to something that looks like ‘normal’.

We are all thinking there are money boxes to collect, lottery tickets to be sold and shops to open once more. All of us who love volunteering for Devon Air Ambulance can’t wait to get back into the swing of things when we are able to and, once again, pull on our red shirts with pride and get back out into the community, supporting the service as we have always done.

… and fi na y, a big thank you to Gine e Gisborne, who very ably l ked a er my Volunt r M ger role while I was y. It was in very safe hands and she did a gr t job in very di cult circumstances. With our volunt rs st d down she also lent her pertise to our Co unications t m and we are delighted to congratulate her on her r nt pr tion to the pos on of Co unications M ger.

Volunteering

Profi le: Cara Jones - Volunteer Manager

Email: c.jones@daat.org

Cara is responsible for coordinating volunteering across Devon Air Ambulance, including the recruitment, induction, training and support of our volunteers working in our shops and in the community.

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We have lots of diff erent roles for volunteers at Devon Air Ambulance – if you would like to become a part of our incredible volunteer team, please contact Cara on c.jones@daat.org.