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Annual Letter – 2020
As we approach the end of 2020, the Board felt this would be a good time to write a letter to you. This will be the first of what will become an Annual Letter. For many around the world, this year has been incredibly difficult. COVID-19 has changed the way we live in many ways and whilst Guernsey has, to a large extent, escaped the worst excesses, we too have felt the effects of the pandemic. Everyone has had to adapt in some way, from the way we shop, to the way we travel and to how we meet with family and friends. The GVS has been no exception. We had to cancel our 70th Anniversary dinner and we have had to be flexible in the way we operate. Whether that has been to change the number of volunteers in the cars of Meals on Wheels, delivery distance or the very opening of our Day Centres. Much of this adaptation of course, has had to be done as events unfolded. Like many organisations we did not have a plan for a pandemic of this sort. It is a testament to everyone involved with GVS, how well we have all adapted. To the end of November, GVS Volunteers have delivered 22,266 meals. A quite astonishing number and one that really does underline what an incredibly valuable service is provided by the entire team. Perhaps the highlight of the year was the presentation of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, by His Excellency Sir Ian Corder at a memorable event at the Jubilee Day Centre. We should also take this opportunity to say how fortunate we are to have received some exceptional assistance both financially and practically from some businesses and their staff during lockdown which helped us navigate the year. To them we are enormously grateful. There is no blueprint for what has happened this year. As a Board we have got some decisions right and we may have got some decisions wrong, but our focus has always been on doing the very best we can for the clients and you. When we have made decisions, in many cases, we have been weighing the risks of COVID-19 against other side effects. Quite often, there is not a ‘good’ option, just a ‘least worst’. A good example of this was the decision we took in late October to temporarily close the Day Centres. We took this decision against a backdrop of a rising number of COVID cases in the Bailiwick and some unexplained community transmission. We had to weigh the rising risks of COVID getting into our Day Centres against the risks of side effects from closing the Day Centres. Rightly or wrongly, we felt at the time, that the risk of COVID getting into our Day Centres was higher with the potential consequences being worse than the side effects of closing. With the benefit of hindsight perhaps we showed an abundance of caution in closing. We can say that now because under the fantastic Track and Trace system, Dr Brink and her team effectively found everyone and got them into isolation. At the time however, we felt we must err on the side of caution. It’s really important to us that both you and the clients know that decisions like this have weighed heavily on the Board. We feel them deeply and are very aware of the problems and challenges that some of these decisions create. We have never felt that closing the Day Centres, in March or late October, was a ‘good’ option. We felt on both occasions it was the ‘least worst’. In response to temporarily closing our Day Centres, Josie, Denise, Mandy and volunteers have been coordinating a new Outreach service. This is a new strand to GVS that has blossomed because of COVID. In the short term it has been a substitute for our Day Centres. In the medium to longer term, we see this service as very much complementary to the Day Centres as we seek to support more and more people in their homes. We are really looking forward to expanding this service in the coming months and years. If you are interested in getting involved with this service, please do get in touch. As we look forwards, we have much to be optimistic about. As the number of cases continued to fall and community seeding was ruled out, we have agreed that we will open both Day Centres for Christmas Party week. Josie and Denise are working incredibly hard to get everything in place to welcome you back. We hope we can give everyone a great week before Christmas holidays. We are also planning to reopen as early as possible in January. The Jubilee Day Centre will reopen on the 4th January and the Russels will reopen on the 5th January. This does of course come with the caveat, that if the COVID position deteriorates over Christmas, we may have to review the situation. In the meantime, we will keep our fingers crossed. A vaccine appears to be imminent which will allow life to return to some kind of normality which will be just fantastic, I’m sure everyone will agree. Mandy is in contact with Public Health and we will be as helpful as we can be in assisting the vaccine process. Assuming, this happens, it is very possible that we will hold our 70th Anniversary Ball at some point in 2021. We would love to see as many of you there with us as possible. We welcome feedback on how we are doing so please do speak with Josie, Denise and Mandy to let them have any constructive comments you may have. Finally, we would like to express our sincere thanks to all our clients, members, volunteers, staff, friends and supporters. Through the most difficult year in a generation the GVS has continued to do what it has done for 70 years, which is no mean feat. All the very best for Christmas and we wish you all a very happy New Year. Regards The Board of GVS 
Please view the above video about GVS during the
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GVS 70th ANNIVERSARY
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Testimonial from Health and Social Care
The Partnership of Purpose recognises the value and assets that our third sector colleagues bring in meeting the health and care needs of our community https://gov.gg/healthtransformation.
The Guernsey Voluntary Service (GVS) has a long established partnership with HSC over a long number of years, providing day care support and meals on wheels within the community. These activities are a key component of supporting individuals to remain as independent as possible and in their own home for as long as is possible and they wish to do so.
Today the GVS has the Jubilee Day Centre in St. Sampsons and has also established the Russels Day Centre at Le Grand Courtil in St. Martins, both of which provide a range of social activities for our elderly population. As well as the volunteers who work in these facilities there are those who, six days a week rain or shine, collect meals from the food production kitchen at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital and deliver them across the island to people’s homes, providing a vital personal connection for some of the most vulnerable and isolated people in our community. The GVS represents all that is great about our community and without them HSC would be unable to deliver user centred outcomes across a range of complex health and social care needs in Guernsey.
The Partnership of Purpose recognises the value and assets that our third sector colleagues bring in meeting the health and care needs of our community https://gov.gg/healthtransformation.
The Guernsey Voluntary Service (GVS) has a long established partnership with HSC over a long number of years, providing day care support and meals on wheels within the community. These activities are a key component of supporting individuals to remain as independent as possible and in their own home for as long as is possible and they wish to do so.
Today the GVS has the Jubilee Day Centre in St. Sampsons and has also established the Russels Day Centre at Le Grand Courtil in St. Martins, both of which provide a range of social activities for our elderly population. As well as the volunteers who work in these facilities there are those who, six days a week rain or shine, collect meals from the food production kitchen at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital and deliver them across the island to people’s homes, providing a vital personal connection for some of the most vulnerable and isolated people in our community. The GVS represents all that is great about our community and without them HSC would be unable to deliver user centred outcomes across a range of complex health and social care needs in Guernsey.
GVS - recipient of Guernsey Charity of the Year award
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