Melvin receives award for Covid 19 work
Funding will fund research into volunteering during coronavirus crisis
Congratulations to Melvin Hartley, the Council's Safety and Resilience Manager, who has received a further award from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to further his work in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Trust has launched a new, £155,000 fund for urgent projects by Churchill Fellows to combat the effects of Covid-19 in healthcare and many other areas of UK life.
When he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship last year, Melvin travelled to the United States, Germany and the Netherlands to explore how best to manage spontaneous volunteers who turn up at emergencies and disasters and how subsequently to permanently recruit them into volunteering.
That experience has been put to good use in his role dealing with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the Borough. The new award will help Melvin gather learning points and best practice from spontaneous volunteer programmes across the UK that are providing aid to the community during the pandemic.
Jeremy Soames, WCMT Chairman and grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, in whose memory the Churchill Fellowship was founded, said: “In today’s urgent situation, the Churchill Fellows' contribution to the national effort is remarkable. They are proven experts in their fields, working on the frontline and making an impact where it is most needed. I believe my grandfather would have been immensely proud of what today's Churchill Fellows are achieving in his name, during the greatest challenge our nation has faced since the war.”