Family firm 'lends' staff to Burnley community hub to man phones that provide a vital lifeline for hundreds of vulnerable people

Due to school, hotel and restaurant closures brought about by the latest lockdown, demand for Birchall Foodservice's hospitality and education services has fallen, resulting in a number of employees being able to offer more time for community projects.

After being made aware that the number of calls being made to the Burnley Together helpline was increasing once again during lockdown, Birchalls kindly offered to temporarily place members of their team within the charity, helping facilitate the essential work which provides a lifeline for many vulnerable people in Burnley.

Launched at the start of the pandemic Burnley Together works in partnership with Burnley Council, The Calico Group,Lancashire County Council, Burnley FC in the Community, BPRCVS and Burnley Leisure and other partners across the public, private, and voluntary sectors to create a central community hub.

Once they had completed their training, two members have now been placed full-time on the

Burnley Together phone lines, with the other three being available to help with any ad hoc tasks that are needed.

In the first week in their role, the Burnley Together team had 330 referrals to the service that were all responded to, an increase of 80 contacts from the previous week, as well as contacting those on the NHS shielding list and other vulnerable people that the service supports.

Through supporting the call centre, the Birchalls' team have gained a huge appreciation for the work that Burnley Together, do and are now looking to get involved with even more projects in the community.

Hayley Spear at Birchalls said: “Our business, like many others around the country, has taken a huge hit due to the lockdown restrictions.

"We support local charities throughout the year, and it was important we played our part during this pandemic, offering support however we can.

"Like Burnley Leisure, we have a 'can-do' attitude and a wonderful team who are willing to adapt and volunteer their time to support the people in Burnley who most need our help.”

Alicia Foley at Burnley Together said it was a 'wonderfully kind gesture' by the company and Burnley Together had been able to really utilise the Birchalls' team.

She added: "We have been able to provide even more help to those who need it through our services here at Burnley Together.

"We’re incredibly grateful for the support and it’s brilliant to see how local businesses and charities are working together to make a real difference to people’s lives."

From the outset of the pandemic Birchall Foodservice has supported Burnley Together in a variety of ways, from donating food to BFC in the Community to make up emergency food parcels, working with Burnley Leisure to support the summer holiday scheme, collecting and and donating goods for the Christmas present appeal and providing tens of thousands of pounds worth of food to make Christmas dinners for those in the community.