Robbie Moore MP: 'Brave network of volunteers played a life-changing role'

THIS month we saw the start of Volunteering Week, a week where the nation gets together to celebrate the wonder of volunteering which so many people up and down the UK do day in day out – out of the goodness of their hearts and often with little recognition.

This year’s celebration was more compelling than ever after we have seen a nation get together and volunteering numbers explode during the Covid pandemic. 

Since being elected as the Member of Parliament for Keighley and Ilkley, I have had the pleasure of meeting many fantastic volunteer groups up and down the constituency, from the Aire Valley Against Incineration campaign group to Keighley Dementia Friendly who were both one of my first official meetings as an MP.  

In honour of Volunteering Week, I met with Friends of Airedale who raise hundreds of thousands of pounds per year to support Airedale General Hospital, whether that is funding the staff costs of the Hospital’s Voluntary Services Department, funding equipment and services to the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust or providing funding for patient transport services, Clothes for Dignity and the hospital Wifi.

The team and their army of 350 volunteers are there to help the hospital, its staff and the many patients who go through the hospital’s doors on a daily basis. 

Another group of volunteers who I have been in constant communication with since my election is the Ilkley Clean River Group. This group has been run by a number of hardworking and dedicated volunteers for a number of years with the aim of cleaning up the River Wharfe.

Their countless hours of unpaid volunteer work is paying off by securing the UK’s first ever designated Bathing Water Status for a river. This status is the first but crucial hurdle in cleaning up the River Wharfe and putting the onus back on the water companies to ensure that investment is made in water treatment plants to stop untreated sewage discharges from polluting our waterways. Particular praise must be given to Professor Becky Malby and Professor Rick Battarbee and the entire team who lead this fantastic organisation. 

Over the last year, I have also done volunteering of my own. I recently set up a litter picking group which tours around the Keighley and Ilkley constituency with a band of dedicated volunteers.

So far we have focused on areas in Keighley Central including the old Keighley College site on North Street, Cliffe Castle and Cavendish Street, as well as branching out to other areas including Guard House, Cross Roads, Oakworth and Ilkley.

Earlier this month I joined the Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks at the kind invitation of Ilkley Grammar School student George Buckley on a litter pick.  

From the very start of the coronavirus pandemic we saw communities from all corners of the Keighley and Ilkley constituency rally behind each other and hold emergency meetings.

The groups then put plans in place to form a community network of volunteers to help in a whole range of tasks, from delivering food to people shielding, to those ferrying people to and from hospital appointments.

Our brave network of community volunteers played a life-changing part in keeping communities connected and in some cases acting as a sole companion to the many elderly and vulnerable people across our communities who, without these volunteers, may have faced many months on their own in self-isolation. 

The role of volunteers during the coronavirus pandemic has been very circular. Volunteers played a huge part in our communities at the very start as I have just mentioned, however they still play a vital role as we have gradually eased lockdown restrictions over the last three months.

We hear a lot of praise for our NHS and healthcare heroes who have been at the forefront of the Covid vaccine programme – and rightly so. However supporting our healthcare workers has been an army of volunteers making sure the logistics of the operation has been running like clockwork.

I was fortunate enough to volunteer at one of our local Covid vaccine clinics and met many of the wonderful volunteers, from car park attendants, Covid marshals and refreshment makers (of which I was one).

My thanks go out to all who have selflessly volunteered through this pandemic, whether that is in the initial lockdown, the vaccine rollout and everything in between. 

Finally, if you want to volunteer, I would urge you to get in contact with the excellent Action Point Community Support Services run by the inspiring Diane Dale: https://keighleyvc.co.uk/index