Groceries for the Elderly UK - Coronavirus Relief
Groceries for the Elderly UK - Coronavirus Relief
"Now than at any point in our history, we will be judged by our capacity for compassion. Our ability to come through this won’t just be down to what governments or businesses do, but the individual acts of kindness that we show each other. The small business that does everything they can not to lay off their staff. The student who does a shop for their elderly neighbour. The retired nurse who volunteers to cover some shifts in their local hospital. When this is over, and it will be over, we want to look back on this moment and remember the many small acts of kindness done by us and to us. We want to look back on this time and remember how we first thought of others and acted with decency. We want to look back in this time and remember how, in the face of a generation defining moment, we undertook a collective national effort and we stood together. It’s on all of us.” - Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer
We have to get our kindness organised.
The “Groceries for the Elderly UK - Coronavirus Relief” is a 100% non-profit initiative to help the vulnerable elderly in need get the groceries they may need over the coming weeks. Although COVID-19 can affect anyone, studies show the mortality rate seems to be 9.8% for those between 70-79 and 18% for 80+. It’s more dangerous for the elderly right now. We all have elderly relatives, friends, and family that we want to protect at this concerning time. However, Age UK predicts that more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 live alone, and more than a million older people say they go for over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member. This means many are lonely and also means they have to do their own shopping - going by public transport, carrying their own shopping and battling with consumers at crowded supermarkets.
This is where Groceries for the Elderly UK - Coronavirus Relief comes in.
THE AIMS ARE:
Save lives - save the lives of the elderly by reducing the chance of them contracting the virus at the supermarket.
Give generously - this fund will allow the elderly to receive a weeks worth of free groceries and essentials (up to £50) so they don’t have to venture out.
Connect the elderly to the young - this will be delivered to them by a healthy university student volunteer who not only can deliver the groceries but check up on this vulnerable adult by phone regularly.
HOW IT WORKS:
A network is developed
We have an extensive network of students which are connected to the vulnerable elderly in their area. These students would nominate elderly people in need of assistance to help deliver shopping to them or choose from the elderly registered. These vulnerable elderly will not selected be from a particular race, religion or creed. Everyone deserves our help regardless of their background! The elderly person has to be 70 years of age or older.
We will be starting with medical and dental students that have been certified. Any students with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 will not be eligible to take part and will have to self isolate. If you’re fit and well medical or dental student off university interested in this life-changing project please complete this short survey
Give generously
Most people will give at least £50.00 towards helping an elderly person around the U.K. This will be spent on groceries and essential items that are important to their day-to-day living for one week.
A student does both sets of shopping
A vetted and trustworthy student will buy the elderly person’s groceries and essential items at the same time as going out for their own weekly shop (so to reduce the transmission rate.) The items they purchase will at the autonomy of the elderly person in their community, but within a degree of sensibility to last them long periods of time. We're recommending a vegetarian/vegan diet to reduce the cost of the shop. No bottles of champagne, unfortunately!
We will be starting with medical and dental students that have been certified. All students with signs and symptoms of COVID-19 will not be eligible to take part and will have to self isolate. If you’re fit and well medical or dental student off university interested in this life-changing project please complete this short survey.
Students deliver shopping
The student will then deliver that shopping to that elderly person, as a driver would if you ordered a takeaway via the 'no contact' option. The student will not enter the elderly person's home or speak for a prolonged period of time to avoid transmission. However, we encourage an exchange of phone numbers to not only develop a relationship between the young and elderly to reduce loneliness but create meaningful community bonds after this crisis has ended. Hopefully, we can get some great pictures and videos of how your donations are hoping people all over the U.K.
Receipts are checked and verified
All receipts for shopping will be checked by our accounts and students will be fully reimbursed. 100% of your donation will be to help the elderly in the U.K. For transparency we will publish all accounts.
About COVID-19
COVID-19 is an illness caused by a new strain of coronavirus that can affect the lungs and airways. Common symptoms are a cough, high temperature, shortness of breath and fatigue. The exact mechanism of the spread of the virus is unknown, but similar viruses are spread in cough droplets.
For more clinical advise please visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The U.K. government have emphasised measures such as washing our hands regularly with soap for at least twenty seconds, avoiding touching our face and refraining from unnecessary contact.
They have also introduced social distancing measures to reduce transmission. As part of these measures they have advised over 70s are most at risk and their need to be extra cautious to not contract the disease. This could mean them social distancing for up to 12 weeks.
For the latest government advice on coronavirus please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
I warmly invite you to give generously to the vulnerable elderly community of our country. It’s been a divisive few years for the U.K. This calamity is a chance to really bring our communities together.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Vinay Raniga
Oral and Maxillofacial SHO - Northwick Park Hospital, London 
