Big Thank You to Hastings Volunteers
Big beach thanks to Hastings’ Volunteer Army
As National Volunteers Week kicks off (June 1st-7th), one town in Sussex has found a very special way of saying thank you to the army of people who stepped up to help people during the pandemic.
Founded only in March last year, the Hastings Emergency Action Resilience Team – or HEART, for short – saw over 1000 people come forward to work as volunteers to help people in need during the crisis. And as their way of saying thank you, the group formed their own ‘heart’ on the town’s beach, saying a big “Thank You” to the hundreds of thousands across the UK who kept the country fed, healthy and supported by giving up their time for others.
And now, in a double celebration, HEART has learned its co-founder, single mum Kim Batty, has had her work recognised globally, with a special award as an #Everyday Leader by the international media giant Nationbuilder.
National Volunteers Week is the annual celebration recognising the work of the many thousands of volunteers up and down the country who give up their time to help others, often keeping vital services running where resources are stretched to capacity. But, for Hastings, this has special importance, as over 1000 people stepped forward to volunteer for HEART, shopping for isolating and vulnerable people, doing pharmacy and vaccination centre runs, ferrying NHS keyworkers to their hospital shifts and delivering thousands of food parcels to low-income families for Hastings Foodbank.
“We had no idea we would get that kind of response,” says Kim Batty “But it’s meant we’ve been able to do so much to help people in need during this crisis. Now we want to do even more, get people back on their feet, and help rebuild our town in health, wellbeing and the economy.”
“Without the support of so many volunteers, none of this would have been possible, so it’s only right their incredible hard work should be recognised.”
The global award by media firm Nationbuilder saw Kim fight off tough competition from community leaders internationally to be one of only nine people worldwide to be recognised for their work. Other winners include a top Intensive Care surgeon in Chicago, the Director of a housing charity for women and children in Los Angeles, and a leading volunteer at PACT in South London.
Proposed for the award by HEART co-founder Alastair Fairley, it comes with a $500 cash prize plus a further $1000 towards the organisation’s running costs over the year.
“Kim, like so many others, felt strongly there was a need to help people at the start of this crisis,” says Alastair. “She may have helped start it all off, but there are thousands like her across the country that also deserve credit for what they’ve been doing. They’re a hidden army, and this week, it’s all about recognizing them!”