Charities must endure

Covid 19 is undoubtedly the most devastating global event to happen since the Second World War and the effects from the pandemic will be felt for many years to come. But history tells us that the human race has miraculous powers of survival and always finds way to prevail in the face of the most extreme adversity. And the global collective will find ways to navigate itself out of this current crisis, of that I am sure.

There will be day soon when phrases like ‘social distancing’ and ‘self isolation’ will be verbal relics of the past and memories of queuing two metres apart at the supermarket will seem unreal and frankly, bizarre.

But when this crisis is over, and it will be, will there still be a strong third sector to help mop up the mess that will inevitably be there in the wake of the virus? The untold consequences of Covid 19 will be considerable and people will need to turn to specialist, experienced organisations to help them rebuild their lives. These consequences will crucially be the negative effect on people’s mental health, extreme poverty and hardship, loneliness and isolation. Other health issues like cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's would not have been furloughed during the pandemic and will be as pressing and critical as ever.

There won’t be an easy ready-made government fix for these issues so once again we will be looking to charities to pick up where others leave off. More than ever they will be needed so we all need to ensure that they are still functioning to carry on the fantastic work they were doing before Covid 19 struck.

The UK has an enduring love of good causes and will always dig deep to support the work of a wide range of charities. I’m sure when this pandemic is over they will still want to get involved and help where they can. But survival of the sector right now is what is desperately needed. So please don’t cancel your direct debits and maybe come up with an innovative new way of raising money in this virtual world. The 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge was easily done at a safe, social distance and remember what that raised? $220m!!

So please keep supporting charities throughout this crisis and beyond.