The Welshpool Community Angels Group was formed by County Councillor Graham Breeze, Rev Steve Willson on behalf of Welshpool Churches, Welshpool Town Councillor Nicola Morris and Town Council Interim Clerk Anne Wilson, with John Morgan joining the group to provide website support. The group also works closely with PAVO’s Community Connectors and the Red Cross.

At the end of March the group launched a Facebook page and appealed for volunteers to come forward to provide support for those in the Welshpool area isolating during the Covid-19 pandemic. They now have over 115 volunteers on their list. They distributed leaflets about their offer to as many residents as possible. Members of the community who are in need of support can contact one of the admin team who then allocate volunteers to respond. Most requests are for shopping needs or for prescription collection. 

Another major activity for the team has been assisting the Town Council with the Meals on Wheels service operated out of the Ann Holloway Day Centre. The group successfully applied to the C-SERT Emergency Fund so that they could offer this service to more people. In a short space of time the service has grown from around 8-10 meals per day to almost 50. 

Councillor Breeze said, “Local businesses and individuals have also very generously donated a considerable amount of money to help expand this service for which we are extremely grateful. Many of the additional goods such as Easter Eggs, cakes and biscuits were delivered as goody bags alongside the daily meals and we are developing a system of delivering treats to all those isolating in the town.”

The Powys Community Sector Emergency Response Team (C-SERT) and PAVO have worked together to distribute small grants to help communities respond to the Covid-19 emergency. The C-SERT Emergency Fund is drawn from the Welsh Government Integrated Care Fund (ICF), allocated by the Powys Regional Partnership Board (RPB).