Lord-Lieutenant visits Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (BRCC)
Friday, 16 October 2020
HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Helen Nellis, was delighted to make a socially distant covid safe visit to BRCC to thank the volunteers and staff for their tremendous efforts during the pandemic.
On the visit, the Lord-Lieutenant met with Chief Executive Tracy Cowan and those team members who were actively involved in supporting the communities during lockdown, and who are continuing to do so in the ongoing pandemic.
Left to right: Tracy Cowan, of BRCC and Helen Nellis, Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire
The Lord-Lieutenant was interested to hear how heavily involved BRCC have been in supporting local councils as part of their community response hubs and providing much needed assistance to vulnerable people in the community and those who were shielding. Using the community transport team, BRCC was doing shopping and dropping it off to isolated residents. The Barn in Cardington remained open during the pandemic making sure local people had access to basic provisions and provided a home delivery service to local residents.
As a rural charity, BRCC works across Bedfordshire supporting communities in a number of different ways, such as providing community transport, supporting good neighbour schemes, promoting healthy walking via the Walking 4 Health scheme, running the shop, café and deli at The Barn, Cardington and running heritage projects like Ridgmont Station Heritage Centre, Warden Abbey Community Vineyard and the Greensand Country Landscape programme.
Chief Executive Tracy Cowan said:
It has been wonderful to welcome the Lord-Lieutenant here today, and for her to meet our fantastic and dedicated staff members and volunteers.
I’m so pleased that the Lord-Lieutenant has been able to thank them personally for their incredible work, as they are an inspiration to us all and have gone above and beyond what was expected of them at such a critical time and for some of our most vulnerable residents.
HM Lord-Lieutenant Helen Nellis said:
It was a pleasure to visit colleagues at BRCC to pay tribute to their work and to get an update on their activities. As Patron of BRCC, I am always so inspired when I speak with the volunteers and staff. They are at the very heart of our communities and have stepped up during the pandemic to help those in need. My sincere thanks to all at BRCC for their community spirit, commitment and dedication.