Furloughed staff at Stansted Airport have amassed more than 7,000 volunteering hours since March.
While the airport is operating at a much-reduced capacity, staff have delivered to foodbanks, collected shopping and delivered medication to the elderly and vulnerable, and organised food and gift parcels for NHS workers.
They have assisted emergency services as Patient Transport Drivers, Community First Responders, Special Constables and helped at London’s Nightingale Hospital.
After delivering 20 tonnes of items to local foodbanks in the last three years, the airport kept up its supply drops to the Saffron Walden and Harlow sites during the pandemic. More than 50 trays of food and toiletries surrendered at airport security have been delivered by volunteers since March.
Security advisor Brenda Watt collected 100kg of donations from airport staff for Uttlesford Foodbank as part of the airport’s Christmas Give & Go initiative. Additional donations were also sent to organisations in Thaxted and Saffron Walden.
Harlow College Principal Karen Spencer, who is supporting the Thaxted scheme, said: “In difficult times lots of people need a bit of TLC. The support from the community, local businesses like the airport, and volunteers has been phenomenal."
Steve Griffiths, CEO of London Stansted Airport, said: “I have been immensely proud of how our team has reprioritised our community work during the crisis to make sure we are focused on the issues that matter most to local communities and our people.
“Against challenging business and personal circumstances, the support provided to local communities has made a real difference. I would like to thank the teams and individuals who have been so generous with their time over the last 10 months.”
Among the volunteer roles, Airport Engineering Technician Daniel Humphreys, who is also a qualified ambulance driver, volunteered with St John’s Ambulance and responded to 999 calls and Lydia Marquer, Landside Operations Key Controller, took on a unique volunteering role after deciding to take a career break to work on the front-line at the NHS Nightingale Hospital in London.
Aviation Account Manager Maddison Broadbent helped pack emergency food parcels, and Brand and Marketing Manager Lois Robertson helped to put together over 2,000 care packages for hospital and clinic staff working throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
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