Since March 2020, the Sankey Community has achieved so much together

The COVID-19 pandemic reached England in early March 2020, and our community came together delivering over 10,000 ‘Good Neighbour’ leaflets. They set up a social media group, opened a community centre as a food hub, and delivered over seven and a half thousand food bags across the Parish of Great Sankey for our elderly and vulnerable. Lead by Cllr Amanda King and volunteers, supported by the Parish Chair, Cllr Peter Watson, the Parish Council and Warrington West Church.

The first food support hub started its deliveries on the 21^st of March and continued for twenty-one weeks, including supporting the various nursing homes across the area with TV’s, water jugs, PPE, and some food stock. Additionally, support was given to sheltered accommodation areas along with Warrington Housing Association, Warrington Voluntary Action, Warrington Wellbeing teams and Warrington West Church, who also helped set up a telephone befriending service.

Over the twenty-one weeks from March to August, the community came together to offer milk, eggs, fresh fruit, veg and long-life food. We shared many events including.

• Giving Easter eggs to many residents and local schools,
• VE Day special celebrations with cakes and music for the community,
• The Big Breakfast – an idea by the volunteer admins Amanda King, David Simm, Lindsay Baker and Chris Hansen Garnett, to link up with the Shannon Bradshaw community café charity and local policing PCSO’S to deliver hundreds of cooked breakfasts,
• Delivering afternoon tea in August with jams and scones,
• delivering plants kindly donated from Christine Brophy when garden centres were closed,
• The Christmas Project saw hundreds of Christmas hampers delivered with support from Warrington Open Doors at Christmas (WODAC).

All of this has been achievable by working with Great Sankey Parish Council, many community volunteers, local Councillors and local businesses such as; Abbey Eggs, Harding Packings,  Carters Craft Cardboards, Traditions Sandwiches, Hurst Bros, Snoutwood Trotters, Co-Op, Morrison’s Warrington Community,  Warrington Disability Partnership, Warrington Food Bank, Chapelford Farm,  Seven Woods Pub, the Butchers Arms  local  Warrington West Scouts, Pastor Ayo and his community from the gospel mission, Mo Hussain from the Warrington Ethic Communities Association,  WODAC and The Hayloft.

Special thanks are also given to Heather Copperwheat, Mark Wilson and Gill Wilson for help with setting up the befriending service, on line funding and grant applications; local child minder, Victoria Egan, for providing weekly fresh baked cakes; local family Karen, Grahame, Sam, and Rosie Pike for making masks, cupcakes and building a post box to collect hundreds of handmade letters and pictures to go out with the parcels bringing joy to many isolated in their homes; local British Gas Engineers and Managers who came together to collect and deliver prescriptions to homes, and all of the community champions who stepped up.

Cllr Amanda King said,

“This community has pulled together, hundreds of volunteers gave up their time to deliver leaflets, check on their neighbours, collect, pack, prep and deliver food and essential goods free to our elderly and vulnerable. The speed at which operations were set up meant we could reach people fast; liaising with housing associations, Council wellbeing team, using local knowledge and street volunteers to identify who needed help. We regularly delivered over two hundred parcels a week, sometimes working  seven days  a week. The achievement has been heart-warming and humbling; the compassion from our community is outstanding. Together, Great Sankey has proven that community spirit is well and truly alive!”

The volunteer group Good Neighbours WA5, with the support from the Parish Council, are still working on a smaller emergency scale from Hood Lane Community Centre. We are open each Sunday from two until five in the afternoon until March as we head out of the Covid-19 pandemic. If anyone needs support for basic long-life food, they can apply via the Parish Council or Cllr Amanda King.

The Good Neighbours WA5 group covers all areas within the WA5 postcode and have a second hub in Penketh run by Lindsay Baker, David Simm and Christine Hansen Garnett and are supported by other Parish Councils.

(article written by Cllr Amanda King)