Selfless volunteer goes above and beyond in pandemic, but thanks others for their help

Firgrove resident Yvette Howarth has gone above and beyond to help the elderly and vulnerable throughout the pandemic – but she humbly says it “wouldn’t have been possible” without the help of other people.

When lockdown was announced in March, Yvette immediately sprang into action, concerned that people would starve.

She said: “I was so worried that people would literally starve when we went into lockdown. I started raising money and doing shopping for the people that needed it in the area; little did I know they would need continued support. I have met some amazing people through all this and cannot thank them enough.”

With the help of social media, Yvette raised over £400 in the first week. After going shopping for essentials with her best friend Kaela Rigg, Yvette’s children made around 45 bags up for those in need which were then delivered.

From there, Yvette joined forces with the Milnrow & Newhey ward councillors who were already collecting donations at Butterworth Hall in Milnrow. “Other volunteers and I shopped every Wednesday, whilst deliveries were carried out by more volunteers,” she recalled. “It was very organised: I gave everyone a time to collect care packages so that there wasn’t a queue outside and everyone could social distance.”

 

 

“It was hard work, but I have to say thank you so much to the staff at Aldi Milnrow, who were amazing. At the start, one of the managers, Stuart, grabbed a few trolleys and help me shop for 140 people.

“It was tough, but people were relying on us.”

After that, it was suggested to ring up a few days in advance to order goods, so it was ready to be picked up to be packaged and distributed to local residents.

They also received over £14,500 in donations from DJ Zac Caulcutt’s live 24-hour DJ set, over £600 raised by Lisa Rennie and about a further £100 from those who received food packages, but also wanted to donate.

“Haji Cash and Carry were also amazing; they provided us with fresh fruit and vegetables each week and donated bags for us to pack separately. C&G Wholesale Foods provided us with wonderful meat packs each week of chicken, bacon, sausages, pork and mince,” Yvette continued.

She added: “I hope everyone was pleased. I tried to vary the shopping each week so people received different types of food and didn’t get bored. We’ve had loads of lovely thank you messages and I’m so glad that we were able to help out.”

She said: “Without the following people, none of this would have been possible: all who donated food or money, the helpers, every volunteer who helped pack and deliver, the councillors for letting us use Butterworth Hall.

“Everyone came together, which just shows how amazing these little villages are when times get tough. For each and every person who donated, on behalf of myself, the people that needed us and all the helpers, thank you so much for your generosity.”