Named after Fraser Bissett, Chair of Blairgowrie Rugby Club who allowed us to use the clubhouse as a base to operate from providing support for food parcels and Saturday Lunch Club.

Fraser BissettWhere to start.....once the pandemic started I don’t think any of us realised the implication of the events that were about to unfold. With restrictions originally talked about only being 3 weeks as I write this, 50 days into lock down and another 3 weeks at least announced and social distance measures that might prevent working for a long time to come. 

Given my work schedule, I soon realised I wasn’t going to be busy, apart from emergency call outs. I saw a post from Caroline Shiers on Facebook about volunteering for the resilience group. Normally having the rugby club to run and various other projects I needed to sink my teeth into something to keep myself busy. After volunteering I was asked about being a coordinator, still working I wasn’t sure if this was the role for me and took on the position of resources manager. 

Not knowing the demand we were going to expect, I set about putting posts on social media, collecting food donations and other household products. Very quickly a lot of people I know and friends of friends started to respond offering generous donations. It has almost become a regular part of my week, tugging at people’s heart strings on social media looking for more. We now have regular donations coming in from various people throughout the town, some of these people have small communities within their streets and the support is amazing. It shows true community spirit, which has maybe been lost in previous years.

The demand for the food and resources has increased by the weeks. I tried to put myself in a position of furlough (which I am now) and the effect it would have on a family etc if both parents were furloughed and the gap it would leave financially. It’s quite a daunting thought. There are various reasons why people might feel hardship and trust me, if you're sitting there feeling ashamed about it, don’t. Our pride is a big thing and some people struggle to get past that. But seeing how much is going out on a regular basis.

We are all in this together.

We need to make sure that people are being pointed in the right directions, there is plenty of support out there. I will continue along with loads of other volunteers to try get resources and food to the people who need it most.