Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, today congratulated an O2 Everyday Heroes award winner for her fantastic community work across Kinver and Enville.
Gavin met with Claire Thorne, the owner of Archie’s Attic café in Enville, as well as other volunteers to discuss how they managed to start and operate a volunteer service to serve their local communities.
Claire who helped create the team, made up of 144 volunteers, ran a 24-hour phone line for elderly, disabled and housebound residents to assist with food shops and odd jobs during lockdown.
For her dedication of manning the phone line for three months, Claire was awarded a new phone and £1,000 towards her business after being nominated for the Everyday Heroes award.
Working closely with local businesses and supermarkets, the group called ‘KOBRA’, originally set up a leaflet drop to all houses in Kinver and Enville for their availability to help in anyway.
Gavin was told how local businesses helped donate food and help with odd-jobs during lockdown.
Commenting on the visit, Gavin said: “It has been great to meet Claire and the team to hear about the extraordinary work they have been doing to serve Kinver and Enville. It is so refreshing to hear that 144 volunteers wanted to serve their communities and to help those who would otherwise have struggled”.
Community award winner Claire said: “I want to say a big thank you to Gavin for taking time out of his busy schedule to come along to acknowledge and meet some of the team members. Unfortunately, my business had to close in March, but I didn’t hesitate to volunteer and get involved. We couldn’t have done this without the great work of local businesses and the Co-Operative store in Kinver. It has been a real team effort”.