Meet Ellie - who is a volunteer in the Resilence Team for Cockenzie and Port Seton.
Ellie Christie is a volunteer with the Cockenzie and Port Seton Resilience Team.
Her role to deliver lunch packages to vulnerable adults within the local community. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday lunches are collected from the Port Seton Cebtre and delivered door to door following an individually assigned route. Social distancing policies are maintained, lunches are placed on the recipient’s doorstep and Ellie steps a safe distance away from the door before it is opened. Ellie has been assigned the same route since she started volunteering and so has enjoyed getting to know the residents. She always makes time for a short chat and appreciates that her role provides more than just a practical service.
“As soon as the country went into self-isolation, I was keen to help those who needed it,” she says. “There are a number of elderly people in the community that had been asked to stay at home to keep themselves safe. I have a strong relationship with my grandmother, but not everyone is lucky to have someone that can help during this pandemic. This prompted me to help out in whatever way I could.
“The majority of the people I deliver to live alone and are struggling to be in the house all day, every day. It is important to keep their spirts up. I do this by trying to make them laugh or talk about something that has nothing to do with Covid-19. This role is so important because you may be the highlight of their day and that is an honour.”
Ellie also assists with the social media assets for the Community Resilience Team. This has involved making videos, to help spread awareness of some positive effects which have emerged from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Alongside her contributions as a volunteer, former Preston Lodge High School student Ellie currently works from home in her role with the Digital Marketing Team at the University of Edinburgh. She enjoys her volunteering work enormously and values the contribution that she is making to the wellbeing of her East Lothian Community.
“Volunteering has opened my eyes to the community spirit that goes on within my village and it feels nice to be able to contribute to the national effort of this country, to ensure we get through this extremely challenging time together.”
The Cockenzie and Port Seton Resilience team is a partnership response to COVID which brings together the Community Council, Connected Communities Preston Seton Gosford (PSG) staff team, Children’s Hub and local volunteers. This reflects the role of PSG Area Partnership in combining resources to respond to local need.