Council’s covid work recognised

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Community Planning and Engagement Service won a CoSLA Excellence Award in the category for Stronger Communities, especially in light of Covid, with its work on ‘Community Resilience Strengthened Through Covid’.
The Dumfries and Galloway project focussed on developing community resilience plans and groups that helped communities and individuals through the pandemic by organising support around food, medical deliveries, how to manage volunteers with expenses, personal protective equipment (PPE), and ensuring the plans and arrangements were sustainable.
The submission highlighted the volunteer response and how the council’s ward officers and community resilience officer supported them.
Cllr Andy Ferguson said: “This award is very much for the people of Dumfries and Galloway. It highlights that everyone pulled together during the time of crisis, with the council providing support and expertise where it was needed.
“We wouldn’t, and couldn’t, have won without this being a very genuine partnership between local volunteers and council officers.”
The winning team comprised: Kerry Monteith, Kerren Walker, Melinda Dolan, Ingrid Gemmell, Kimberley Phillips, Seán O’Toole, Darren Burns, Fiona Daubney, Chris Woodness, Derek Hextall, Steven Wylie, Jaime Nicholson, Stuart Hamilton, Kirsty Peden, Hazel Kerr and Mandy Patterson, from the council’s communities directorate.