THE charity Ilkley Good Neighbours is sending out a special information pack to all of its clients to help them during the coronavirus lockdown. The pack, which will be posted to almost 200 local people, contains a range of helpful items, including practical advice, health tips, puzzles, recipes, along with hand drawn pictures and a wordsearch by Ben Rhydding Primary School pupils. The pack is particularly aimed at those who aren’t able to access the internet.

“With the current situation and its challenges we’ve been looking at ways in which we might further help our clients, those who use our Shop Assist and Befriending services and who normally attend our weekly Moving On coffee morning meetings,” said Hannah Walton, who wrote the information pack and is also the charity’s Moving On project Co-Ordinator. “We decided that a booklet containing lots of useful advice along with some enjoyable things to do at home might give our clients a bit of a boost during this strange and difficult time when some will undoubtedly feel isolated. Many of our clients have used our services for years, but there is also now a growing number of new people who need our assistance because of coronavirus, so we wanted to reach out to them all and let them know that although we can’t get together at the moment they aren’t forgotten. Apart from helpful suggestions, the information packs we send out will each contain a nice picture from a Ben Rhydding pupil, and will hopefully be a happy bit of post to show that we are thinking about them and look forward to seeing them all again once it’s safe to do so.”

Ilkley and District Good Neighbours is part of the Ilkley Coronavirus Response, which involves a number of volunteers and organisations and has a special helpline for people who may need extra assistance during the lockdown. Anyone who thinks help might be useful can contact 07375 803693. They will then be put in touch with the relevant volunteer or charity organisation who can offer support.