The Covid pandemic and lockdown had curtailed most of our Rotary projects for 12 months and by February 2021 we just needed something useful to do. And right on time, those wonderful scientists developed the Covid vaccines and hope was on the horizon.
Banbury Cross Health Centre was one of the main centres in Banbury for vaccines, so we volunteered to guide patients through the surgeries and to marshal the car park – not the most comfortable task on a couple of occasions at 4 degrees below zero!! After 12 months of in-activity we really enjoyed helping at the clinics, made even more enjoyable because the staff at BCHC made us so welcome and treated us as part of the team.
The number of clinics varied from week to week, but on a few occasions we’ve supplied volunteers from Monday to Saturday, morning and afternoon. We’ve now been involved with the clinics for just over 12 months and in that time our members have completed more than 1000 hours of volunteering. Of course, other Rotary clubs in District 1090 have been offering the same service to their communities, completing a total of over 13,000 hours.
The last couple of months have been much quieter as a high proportion of the population have received their jabs, but news that the over 75’s will now be offered another booster, we could soon be needed again. Watch this space.