A SOMERSET charity that helps those in need has received a £500 cash boost.

Active and In Touch is made up of volunteers who visit, befriend people in the Frome area who have become lonely, isolated or out of touch with their community.

Now, volunteers have received the cash from Tesco as part of a £2 million scheme to support charities and community groups responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The charity also runs social groups locally to help people come together and socialise with others, and provides activities like arts and crafts and a cookery club.

Sadly, they have had to suspend all face-to-face activities for the foreseeable future due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dougie Brown, director of services of Active and In Touch, said: “The people we support have often become isolated and lonely as a result of their circumstances, such as caring for a loved one or moving to a new area.

"Our volunteer befrienders make a real difference in helping them feel part of their community.

“The need for the support we provide has grown massively in lockdown, and we are really grateful to all the local businesses that help us to do what we do.

“We would like to thank Tesco for supporting us to carry on our work, and would encourage other organisations to apply for help too.”

Greater isolation during the pandemic has led to the charity seeing an increase in people needing support of more than 100%, and in volunteers to provide that support.

Now, they are offering a telephone service where anyone who is feeling isolated and lonely can receive call from the same volunteer at least once a week.

They also help with contact-free deliveries of essential shopping or medical supplies.

Recently, they have started to encourage safe outside befriending to take place to get individuals more active and to feel less apprehensive about leaving their homes.

The increased need locally has led to extra costs for the charity in terms of staff time, Disclosure and Barring Service checks on volunteers, and higher telephone bills.

The £500 grant has been used to cover some of these costs.