Liam Kerr has praised the “fantastic” work of a charity who are helping to furnish up to 40 homes across the north-east each week throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Scottish Conservative north-east MSP Liam Kerr visited Somebody Cares on Aberdeen’s Hazledene Road, hearing about the charity’s work in delivering 83,352 meals and more than 300 supermarket trays of food during Covid.
Mr Kerr has now commended the charity in parliament for their “fantastic” and “exemplary” work in helping to support the elderly as well as children across the city and Aberdeenshire.
Since its creation in 2002, Somebody Cares has provided food, clothing and furniture free of charge to some of the most vulnerable members in society.
But due to increasing demand on the charity from Covid, Somebody Cares is now having to spend an additional £350 every day to keep the right nutritious mix in its food bags.
As it begins to bring all six of its buildings back into operation, the charity is also having to spend £35,000 on social distancing measures and PPE equipment for its staff, clients and customers, adding extra strain on the organisation.
Mr Kerr said:
“It was fantastic to visit Somebody Cares and learn about the massive amounts of work they are doing to help people through this extremely challenging period.
“From care homes to churches, the work of Somebody Cares is making a huge difference during Covid, highlighting the importance of charities like these to the north-east.
“It’s clear Somebody Cares has been hit hard by the pandemic – something which can’t be forgotten about.
“Whether its spending thousands of pounds to ensure safety is maintained against the virus or the fact more and more people are requiring the help of the charity, Somebody Cares is relying more than ever on the generosity of the public to ensure the needs of every person across the north-east can be met.
“I have commended the work of the charity in parliament in the hope the Scottish Government can recognise the workload charities are having to take on during this pandemic as well as the tremendous work they are doing.
“This is why it’s vital organisations such as Somebody Cares aren’t overlooked for funding from Holyrood and I will do everything I can to ensure organisations like this have avenues available to them.”
Somebody Cares chief executive, Bryan Taylor, added: “It was great to have Liam Kerr in for a visit and to discuss the issues Covid has posed to us and the continued work we are doing to help those in need.
“There are many real challenges ahead especially in keeping enough finance coming in to sustain us until we get back to normal operations which could be a significant period.
“As an organisation, Somebody Cares has always thrived on the challenges and always found a new way to keep looking after those who desperately need us.”