Certificate of appreciation for Right at Home GF

Deputy Lieutenant, Rob Douglas CBE has presented Right at Home GF with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Surrey Lieutenancy.

The certificate was awarded during a tea party for Right at Home GF staff, clients, volunteers and partners. The award recognises the Farnham-based home care provider’s response to the pandemic which included the creation of Right at Home Friends.

The concept for the free service was to recruit a community of individually vetted volunteers who would offer shopping and phone companionship to older and vulnerable people across south west Surrey and north east Hampshire.

In total, Right at Home GF recruited over 170 volunteers who assisted around 100 people. At Christmas, Right at Home rallied together a team of community spirited cooks to deliver home cooked Christmas meals to an additional 100 elderly people.

When presenting the certificate, Deputy Lieutenant Rob Douglas acknowledged how charities and services such as Right at Home had adapted the way they work in response to the pandemic and lockdown. He described the award as an honours system to recognise and appreciate the community efforts of organisations during the pandemic.

Upon accepting the certificate, Alastair Shanks, Managing Director of Right at Home GF said: “Over the past year and a half, we have seen so many volunteers and organisations step up and it has been an amazing experience to be part of Farnham’s coming together.

“It has been wonderful to be able to support people and to make a difference and I would like to thank my wife Kate Shanks who rose to the challenge of creating Right at Home Friends and making it such a success. I would like to give a huge thank you to everyone.”

In an impromptu and touching speech, one of Right at Home’s clients summed up the difference Right at Home makes. She said: “On behalf of all those being cared for by you wonderful people – you have no idea what it means to people like me. Thank you.”

Although lockdown has lifted, the legacy of Right at Home Friends lives on with many volunteers continuing to visit the person they were assigned to help.

For more information about Right at Home GF, visit www.rightathomegf.co.uk or call 01252 783426.