Royal Voluntary Service has launched a national emergency appeal to raise £5million to allow us to provide a lifeline to tens of thousands of vulnerable and older people during this crisis. The Coronavirus Pandemic is an unprecedented event in our lifetime, and we are now mobilising to support Britain as we did during WW2, when we helped communities cope with the hardships of war.

As proud partners of NHS England we have built an army of new volunteers NHS Volunteer Responders to protect the 1.5million most at risk and others NHS professionals feel are clinically vulnerable. However, the group requiring support is far wider and Royal Voluntary Service is needed now more than ever before across the whole of Great Britain to help fight Covid-19. With strict rules now in place to stay at home, many are in desperate need, and isolation shouldnt mean coping alone.

Our services provide a lifeline to people in hospitals and in the community to those who find themselves in a vulnerable situation and in need of some support. Now, due to the outbreak of Coronavirus in Britain, the demand for our help has become even more vital.

At this crucial time we are adapting our services to ensure we can:

- Make hundreds of thousands of calls offering companionship, support and advice

- Give regular well-being checks

- Deliver essential food, toiletries and prescriptions to people unable to leave their homes, which in turn supports all of us to protect the NHS

- Transport people to important medical appointments

- Address loneliness by delivering in-home activities through a new virtual village hall to help tackle the issues arising from isolation and help protect physical and mental health.