An on-call firefighter from Kenilworth has been recognised as a 'Covid-19 Community Champion', affirming twelve months of her service to local residents.

Alison Insley, who is based at Kenilworth Fire Station, has been given this title having completed a five-week course run by Warwickshire County Council.

WCC invited volunteers across the county to take part in five two-hour sessions to learn more about responding to the needs of the community, understanding more about the impact of the pandemic and what you can do to help others in your community.

Alison who, as well as being a firefighter, helps to run the rapid testing centre in Leamington, and has volunteered with the Covid-19 Support Kenilworth Group since March 2020, decided to sign up as soon as she saw the advert online.

"I saw an ad on Facebook looking for members of the community to sign up and become champions," she says, "I looked at the stuff that was on it and thought 'that is quite close to a lot of the stuff that I have been doing for the past 12 months'."

Talks were given by a number of representatives from local authorities, as more than 100 volunteers signed up across Warwickshire.

Led by the five Covid-19 Community Champions' values to Protect, Support, Help, Listen and Lead the sessions were designed to provide "knowledge about becoming an active citizen in your community and the services that surround you, as well as the opportunity to connect with new people."

"For me, it was more of an affirmation of stuff that I have been doing anyway," says Alison.

As the third national lockdown gradually winds down, she is hoping to keep on helping vulnerable members of the community.

"So the idea is that we go out and we do things, continuing going and helping people with shopping and all that sort of stuff, but also is helping people with isolation.

"For me, people haven't been out for a long time so I want to help get them out again; some people have been shielding for well over a year now and I think that they are going to find it very difficult to come out into the big bad world."

Find out more about Warwickshire Covid-19 Community Champions here.

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