BCP Council Celebrate Volunteers' Week

BCP Council are celebrating all the wonderful volunteers who have been helping others during this time. Thank you to each and every one of you!

Emily and her partner Anthony have been supporting their neighbours in Southbourne with dog walking during lockdown. Whilst Charlie the Cockapoo's owner is recovering at home after being in intensive care with Covid-19, Emily and Anthony have helped by giving Charlie his daily walk. Emily said: "It's been a pleasure to help our community and those in need."

Join BCP Council on Facebook to hear more volunteer stories.

Food Support in the Community

Charities, faith groups and community groups are working incredibly hard to deliver hot meals to those in need and to make sure everyone can get food and other essentials. There are so many examples of volunteers and others helping residents including in the Townsend area of Bournemouth, the partnership working in Christchurch and the redistribution of surplus food by Poole Community Exchange.
 
If you're a resident and need help accessing food or other vital support, please contact our Together We Can helpline on 0300 1237052. 

Want to help? Volunteer NOW!

Thank you for the NHS

Today we surprised Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's NHS hospital workers by installing these well deserved markings on the roads outside the hospitals. 

A huge thank you to our street team and also to Ennis-Flint EMEA and Uni-Play for kindly donating the materials to enable us to show this support for our hospitals. We think it makes a lovely substitute for #ClapForCarers.

BCP Council calls on people to ‘respect our communities’

Organisations across Dorset are yet again urging people who are visiting Dorset and those that live here to think carefully about where they are going and if it is safe to do so. If it is busy and social distancing can’t be maintained, then people should head home.
 
The huge numbers that flocked to Bournemouth beach, and the litter and behaviour over the weekend, reaffirms that some members of the public are not taking responsibility for their actions.

Read the full statement here.

Deadline approaches for discretionary business grants

Small and micro businesses with fixed property costs that are not eligible for the Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund may be eligible for the Discretionary Grants Scheme.

Businesses should check their eligibility and need to apply before 9am on Monday 15 June.

Apply now.

Free advertising to support businesses

We’ve joined up with the Daily Echo, Bournemouth Town Centre BID and Poole BID to support local businesses as they prepare to reopen on 15 June, with thousands of pounds of free advertising for local businesses on offer. The campaign, ‘Stay Local, Spend Local’, aims to revitalise the economy.

We're also putting in measures to help people stay socially distanced whilst out and about in our busiest areas, including signage. We'll send further details on this to you soon.

Find out more about free advertising here.

Coronavirus symptoms? Test and trace

To control coronavirus, testing and tracing must become a new way of life. If you have symptoms of coronavirus, get a test immediately and do not leave home for any other reason.

If you are contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service, you will never be asked to make any form of payment. The team will call from 0300 013 5000 or send you a text message from “NHS”.

How test and trace works.