Covid-19 – Volunteering
A message from Paul…
Volunteers remain absolutely vital to our railway’s future. We have been grateful for the offers of support from volunteers over recent days. Under normal circumstances, you travel from all across the country – and indeed the world – to work on the railways and to enjoy all that comes from working towards a common goal.
However, with current government guidelines, we need to be clear on how this affects volunteering.
1) All non-essential travel should be avoided therefore volunteers not in the immediate vicinity of the railway are asked not to make journeys to Gwynedd to work on the railways. This is an incredibly sad statement to make but we ask you to think about your colleagues on the railways and to heed government advice.
2) Those in vulnerable groups should follow all advice to self-isolate and keep abreast of government guidelines.
3) If you fall into this category and need support with groceries, collection of medical supplies or even just to chat then please reach out to the railway family. We all occasionally argue about the colour of locomotives or which is our favorite station but we are a family and we should stick together. Help will be available locally.
4) It may be possible for local volunteers to still assist with immediate tasks as the engineering departments remain operational and the commercial departments make plans for the future. There is a great deal of experience, skill and enthusiasm amongst volunteers and this is valued greatly by the Board and management team. However, we ask that all volunteer activity must be agreed in advance with department managers and all guidelines strictly followed on hygiene, safety and the like. This measure may seem extreme but it is essential that our management team know who is working on their sites and can plan effectively.
5) There may be tasks, many of them digital, which can be undertaken from home (anywhere in the world!) and we will hopefully be able to share some of these in the coming weeks, especially as many of us are largely confined to home.
In the coming weeks and months, your railway will need you more than at virtually any point in living memory. We are very sad that many of our keenest supporters cannot help us in person but we will brief in the coming days on ways in which you can assist from afar.
When the railway reopens fully your help will be needed again and we hope that day comes soon.
If you have questions on volunteering both Tricia and Iain would be pleased to hear from you. You can contact them easily by Email iwilkinson@ffwhr.com, tdyole@ffwhr.com or indeed any of your other friends at the railway.