June 2020.
Everyone has had to change how we live, work and interact with each other in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Methodist Alliance was one of the grateful recipients of the Tindall Foundation’s generosity during this time. The Trustees of the Tindall Foundation Fund reprioritised funding they had set aside for the 25th anniversary of the Tindall Foundation and gave this to their local donation managers.
The Methodist Alliance is one of the local donation managers and we were asked to ensure that this funding reached the most vulnerable in our communities. The Tindall Foundation asked us to consider older people living on their own in isolation, those people experiencing homelessness, rural and isolated populations, neighbourhood well-being services and marae social services.
Our Methodist Missions provide multiple services in the communities they serve with foodbanks, food parcel delivery, community led development and support, social services, Housing First etc. Methodist Missions and Parishes were well placed to be agile and flexible to respond to the changing needs in the community and were grateful to have the extra funding from the Tindall Foundation to be able to support the work that was needed.
This included:
Delivery of food vouchers to the most vulnerable whānau
Support to rough sleepers to transition in to motels and provision of food and phones so their support workers can maintain contact with them
Healthy nutritional meals for residents at the Hamilton Men’s Night Shelter which operated 24/7 rather than just at night
Welfare checks and delivery of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, groceries, frozen meals and medication for vulnerable isolated elderly
Purchase of digital hardware to support elderly residential care residents maintain contact with their family and friends via Skype
Support to the increasing numbers of people now accessing benefits
Many missions and parishes worked collaboratively to respond to particular needs in the community. One whānau made the difficult decision to relocate to another part of the city due to family violence. The Mission put out an email requesting donations of household goods for this whānau. Staff from across the Mission responded with beds and linen. And an email sent out by a Methodist minister to the parish resulted in donations of clothes and toys for the tamariki.
This is just one example of the many encouraging and uplifting stories of how Methodists are working together to protect vulnerable people in our communities, especially people who are in high-risk groups. Other examples of how work has changed for some people during this time includes:
A Mission Housing Manager becoming the personal shopper for the elderly village residents
Housing Manager - Personal Shopper
A Mission Director’s Executive Assistant working on reception at the residential care facility and helping residents Skype their families
A Mana Ake kaimahi who usually works with pupils and teachers in schools & a psychologist became cleaners for the residential care facility
Mana Ake Kaimahi – Cleaner
Psychologist - Cleaner
A social worker who normally works with the most vulnerable whānau in our community became a health care assistant at the residential care facility
An early childhood teacher became an assistant cook at the residential care facility
Community based workers organising how to support their communities to remain connected by using digital apps
Community based workers adjusting their plans and celebrations to ensure Neighbours Day Aotearoa went digital
Every act of kindness, generosity and solidarity matters. We are grateful to the Tindall Foundation for their kindness and generosity. We are grateful for the wider Methodist whānau who realise we all have a role to play in caring for others and keeping each other safe.ve to share
our success stories
Carol Barron, Methodist Alliance National Coordinator, Carol@MethodistAlliance.org.nz
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