Volunteers cannot go into your home but they can bring your bins to the edge of your property and return them later that day.

Volunteers can also help recycle your glass to the central collection points.

The volunteers can collect click and collect orders for you and deliver these to your front door.

When you contact us, please let us know the click and collect order number, where it is and when it is available for collection.

The Cowshed

The Cowshed is a charity which provides support to people of all backgrounds in a time of personal crisis.

The aim of The Cowshed is to provide good quality cleaned and ironed clothes and other essentials free to anyone in need.

If your need is urgent we may be able to refer you to the Cowshed, please contact us to discuss your needs.

Clothes Bank

Bracknell Catholic Church

They are currently offering emergency referrals and accepting donations.
Please visit their website for more information.

Many of you are being proactive and sharing supermarket delivery slots with your neighbours.

If both households are shielding or have symptoms of COVID-19 then the volunteers can move part of one delivery from one door step to another for you.

This is our policy that provides guidance and procedures for both dog owners and community responders who volunteer to walk dogs for members of the community who are unable to do so themselves due to the virus and/or their personal health circumstances.

Potential risks identified with community response dog walking activity:

• Risk of injury to volunteer walker or dog
• Risk of injury to a member of the public or another dog
• Risk of damage to property
• Potential cost to dog owner (through the dog injuring a person, dog or damaging property)
• Potential liability of the volunteer walker if they do not have adequate control of the dog
• Transmission of the virus; although there is no evidence of dogs being able to catch and transmit the virus to humans, their fur/coat and dog leads are surfaces where the virus could be found and transmitted from person to person.
• Transmission of the virus from owner to walker at handover

In normal circumstances dogs would get to know potential walkers - so even calm and easy-going dogs may not react well when picked up by a stranger.

To minimise these risks, we ask the following guidelines are observed:

• Owners ‘book’ all walks through the Community Hub are aware of all owners and volunteers coming into contact with each other and, in the event of any incident, are aware of the parties involved
• Priority will be given to those owners who are ‘shielded’ or isolated and have no one else to walk the dog; particularly those with no garden
• Only one dog to be walked at a time
• The dog owner must provide the Community Hub with evidence of insurance
• The dog owner agrees to disclose any issues regarding the dog (dislike of bicycles for example) at the time of booking the walk and to confirm the dog does not have a history of aggression. They will also share details of the dogs breed and size and maybe even a photograph
• The volunteer will be provided with a community response volunteer T-shirt and identification (which can only be used for official community response tasks)
• The volunteer at no time enters into the home of the dog owner
• Handover occurs in the safest way possible. If any aspect of handover makes the volunteer uncomfortable or unsafe the walk is aborted
• The volunteer wears gloves (these can be provided) at all times during the walk and observes the government guidelines to keep safe (social distancing, not touching face etc.)
• The volunteer keeps the dog on lead at all times
• If there are any issues with the dog’s behaviour the walk is terminated early
• The owner is to supply poop bags and, if there is no suitable dog poop bin on the walk, agrees to take the full poop bags back and dispose of
• The volunteer dog walker agrees to pick up any dog mess on the walk and, if there is a suitable dog poop bin that is not full, on the walk route dispose of or return to dog owner
• The volunteer does not unnecessarily pet/touch the dog
• The volunteer does not allow anyone else to touch or pet the dog at all
• The return of the dog and the handover to the owner occurs in the safest way possible.
• The volunteer lets the dog owner know of any issues
• The volunteer leaves full poop bags with owner (if applicable)
• It is recommended that the dog owner bathes or wipes down the dog on its return to minimise risk of transmission from the dog’s fur/cost
• The volunteer removes and disposes of gloves safely as soon as task is over and washes hands as soon as possible
• The volunteer provides feedback to the Community Hub (through the local coordinators or if arranged direct to the office); it is important that any concerns are shared for everyone’s safety

The Ark Trust CIO does not accept any liability for injury or damages arising from community response volunteer dog walking activity.

We have told the volunteer network to not accept donations or tips when they complete a task. We have had a number of offers of donations from people who the network is supporting and we are turning these down.

If you want to reward the network please consider giving to Berkshire Community Foundation who are building an emergency fund. They have launched a Vital for Berkshire – Coronavirus Appeal to raise money at this time of national crisis to help those most affected in Berkshire by the impact of Coronavirus.

If you break your glasses and are in need of urgent repair, we can help facilitate this.

Is the COVID-19 crisis causing you financial hardship, please get in touch.

We can make referrals to other agencies who can help you through these difficult times including:

• Citizen Advice Bracknell
• Foodbank
• Cowshed
• Social Services

The foodbank provides emergency food to people in crisis

Every day people go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. A simple box of food makes a big difference.

If you were shielding or you or someone in your household has symptoms of COVID-19 and you have no way to purchase food then we may make a referral to the foodbank for you. If you can afford to buy food, please take a look at our food shopping section.

If your foodbank request is not COVID-19 related, please contact one of the agencies that previously supported you, for example, social care, CAB or call the foodbank directly on 01344 862699.

The foodbank in Bracknell is operating a drive through service, if you have no car we can also arrange for a volunteer to collect from the foodbank and to deliver to your home address. Once you have a foodbank voucher number please give us a call to arrange delivery.

Donating to the foodbank

If you would like to give some food to the foodbank please do so at:

• Tesco Warfield during store opening hours
• Tesco Martins Heron during store opening hours
• Waitrose Bracknell during store opening hours
• Sainsburys Bagshot Rd during store opening hours
• Morrison’s Peel Centre during store opening hours
• Kerith Community Church, Church Rd, Bracknell, RG12 1EH during Foodbank opening hours (Tues/Wed/Fri 12-1.30pm)

Online priority supermarket shopping slots

If you do not have access to priority supermarket shopping slots and think you should have access please call us to discuss your needs.

If you are unable to shop online or go shopping for food yourself, cannot get slots directly with the supermarkets or have no close family and friends to do this for you, then we can help.

When do we go?

We do food shopping everyday of the week at a local supermarket. 

The Process

Where possible please give us a couple days' notice and provide us with your shopping list. You can call or email the shopping list to us.

A volunteer will shop for you and deliver direct to your front door. They will place the shopping on your doorstep, ring or knock on the door and move away at least 2m.

The volunteer cannot help bring the food into your house, if this might be an issue please let us know at the time of placing your order.

Do not hand over any cash, card or bank details to the volunteer to pay for the shopping, please do not tip them.

Later that day someone from our office will call you to take payment over the phone.

How do you know its us calling?

You will know it is us because we call from our office phone number 01344 266911.

We will tell you how much is on the receipt and only charge you that exact amount.

On your statement the transaction will show as PP*Arktrustlim. The PP stands for Paypal.

We do not store your card information so you will need to give it to us each time we do something for you that involves charges.

All of the GP surgeries are routinely closed for you to visit. You access them by phoning them or contacting them through their website.

If they ask you collect something from the surgery or they ask you to provide a sample the volunteers can pick up and deliver these for you.

Need a new battery or is something wrong with your hearing aid?

We can help facilitate the return and repair or collect and deliver new batteries to you.

During this time if you have any question either COVID-19 related or health and social care related please contact us.

Volunteers can collect letters and parcels from you and post them on your behalf.

Run out of stamps, contact us and we can arrange for these to be purchased on your behalf.

See our food shopping section for details of how to make payment.

If you need a prescription collected, please let us know when it is available for collection. Where it is to be collected from, your date of birth.

Please let us know if you are exempt from prescription charges or tell us how you normally pay for these.

Also let us know if any of the medications are controlled drugs.

Most prescriptions are being completed electronically between Health Care Provider and the Pharmacy, however some paper prescriptions can be used for some specialist services.

We are working directly with 3 pharmacies to deliver prescription to their patients.

If you think you could benefit from someone meeting up with you then our Side by Side might be for you, please call 01344 266911 or email us to discuss your needs.

Side by Side Policy

Some Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) people, people living with other health conditions and disabilities that make them vulnerable to coronavirus and their unpaid carers (family/friends) have told us that they feel anxious about going out (when restrictions allow).

They have asked if there are volunteers available that can help them build up confidence in accessing the community and facilities such as local supermarkets again. As current restrictions also allow for meeting up with one other person outside for exercise this may also include going for a walk locally for fresh air, exercise and some chat. In some circumstances the volunteer may be asked to meet up with 2 people when it involves a person with a disability/condition and their unpaid carer (this has been requested particularly for those living with dementia).

Volunteers who undertake these tasks must:

• Maintain social distancing
• Where possible wear a face mask/covering/visor
• Report back to their area coordinator in a timely manner once job is completed
• Report any potential safeguarding/welfare concerns to the area coordinator and the hub office.

Volunteers who undertake these tasks must not:

• Give out their personal contact details to the resident they are supporting (please direct all requests for support to the hub office)
• Break any local/national restrictions currently in place
• Go inside a resident’s home
• Offer a lift in your car/vehicle or travel in the resident’s car/vehicle.

Are you a small business operating locally and need help distributing essential supplies the volunteer network may be able to help.

Please get in touch to discuss your needs.

Running low and you cannot top these up online.

Please let us know and we will collect, top up and return the key to you.

Visit the food shopping section to see how you pay for this.

These are our procedures for both volunteers and the Ark office.

Volunteers may require reimbursement from the Ark office under the following circumstances:

• Cost of parking that is essential to complete a task e.g. when picking up a prescription from a town centre pharmacy
• Mileage when a volunteer agrees to an out of area task e.g. collecting specialist medication from Frimley Park Hospital
• Reimbursement for money paid for prescriptions or shopping when requested by the Ark office (volunteers have indicated if they are happy to undertake such a task in their survey)

Where any of the above apply this will be notified in the job task or agreed with the volunteer if the expenditure was not anticipated .

Procedures to claim reimbursement:

• The volunteer will forward the information requested by the Community Hub office in order to raise payment: photograph of receipt/parking ticket or details of mileage
• Volunteer will forward, by email, details of the bank account they wish to receive any payments; it is the volunteer’s responsibility to ensure these are correct
• The Community Hub office will raise the relevant accounts documentation and make the payment within 2 working days (We use a charity bank, CAF, so some bank transfers take up to 5 working days until receipt after leaving our bank). It is the office’s responsibility to ensure the payment is made to the account details given

The Ark Trust CIO Data Protection Statement

At The Ark we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

Who are we?

The Ark Trust in partnership with Bracknell Forest Council are running the community response service in Bracknell Forest.

The community response service will help anyone in need who has no local support network of their own (family and friends) including those in the household who are isolating or shielding from the virus. Help is also available for people distancing and is decided on a case by case basis.

This privacy statement sets out the data processing practices carried out by The Ark Trust CIO, Charity Number 1098204, Information Commissioner’s Office Registration Reference Z7741334.

Volunteer area coordinators have been identified in your local area. The Ark passes most requests for assistance to them and they allocate it to a volunteer responder. There are some exceptions to this decided on a case by case basis. For example: our staff and volunteers carry out some tasks and some requests result into referrals to other organisations.

What personal information do we collect and how do we use it?

Depending on your needs when you contact us we collect, process, share and store the following information about you. In some cases there are specific things that help a volunteer to complete a task, you will tell us this at the time of the request and we will tell you if we are sharing that information, the following is for general guidance.

Information and advice only

• We do not keep any personal information relating to IAG only.

Medication collection and delivery

We record and store:

• If you are shielding, isolating or social distancing
• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• Your Email address
• Your date of birth
• The number of items being collected
• Where the collection is
• When it is available for collection
• If there are any controlled drugs

We share with the area coordinators:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• Your date of birth
• The number of items being collected
• Where the collection is
• When it is available for collection
• When there are controlled drugs

We share with the volunteer responder:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your date of birth
• The number of items being collected
• Where the collection is
• When it is available for collection
• When there are controlled drugs

Food Shopping

We record and store:

• If you are shielding, isolating or social distancing
• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• Your Email address
• Your shopping list

We share with the area coordinators:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• Your shopping list

Area coordinators share with the volunteer responder:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your shopping list

Dog walking

We record and store:

If you are shielding, isolating or social distancing

• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• Your Email address
• The breed of your dog
• A photo of your dog
• Your insurance policy for your dog
• Specific behaviours of your dog

We share with the area coordinators:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
• The breed of your dog
• Specific behaviours of your dog

Area coordinators share with the volunteer responder:

• Your name
• Your address
• The breed of your dog
• Specific behaviours of your dog

This is a general guide. There are other tasks that we will carry out for you and we will tell you what will happen to your personal information when you contact us.

Where do we store your personal information?

During this crisis we store information on paper and electronically. Where it is electronically stored it is password protected. Paper records are stored securely.

Referrals

We will only make a referral to another organisation with your permission, the information we share with them will be provided by you at the time of you agreeing for the referral. Referrals include but are not limited to CAB, Involve, Foodbank, Bracknell Forest Council.

Safeguarding

During the course of our work with you, we may be alerted to a safeguarding concern. If this is the case we may have to pass your information onto the local authority safeguarding team, police or other statutory party without your permission. Where it is safe to do so we will make this clear to you that we are doing this.

Your rights?

You have the right to your personal information being removed at any time. You also have the right to be forgotten. Forgotten means that we will delete all your personal information from all of our records. Please let us know at any time if you wish to be removed. There may be a time where we cannot remove you entirely, such as safeguarding. You have the right to request what information we have about you. If you would like to know, please ask us. You also have a right to update or correct this information where it is out of date or incorrect.

Please contact chris@theark.org.uk for any requests of this nature. Please note at this time we may not respond to these requests as quickly as we would like to.

How long will we keep your personal information for?

Volunteer responders will destroy your personal information as soon as they have told their area coordinator that the task is complete.

Area coordinators will destroy your personal information 7 days after the task is complete.

At the end of this crisis The Ark Trust will destroy all records containing personal information.

How the Community Response works



People will contact the Community Hub with requests, we will triage requests to the most appropriate service. This maybe Bracknell Forest Council because it is a social care request, or to community and voluntary sector partners who will be providing longer term help and support or to the volunteer network. 

Volunteer Network

Volunteers (you) are being divided into borough ward areas based on where you live. This will mean you will be asked to help people in the area you live in.

Volunteer area coordinators are being identified, we will pass tasks to the area coordinators who will then contact you directly to check your availability and your health to complete a task.

We will let you know soon who your local area coordinators are. They will know your name and contact information and if you have access to a vehicle. At this time we are not sharing your home address with them.

What might you be asked to do

Examples of what you maybe asked to do; but not limited to:

• Deliver essential food and supplies
• Dog walking
• Picking up prescriptions
• Taking out or putting bins away
• Follow social media and pointing people to this scheme

Please don't take on a task your not comfortable completing, for example: not all of us are dog lovers. 

Money exchanging hands will be removed from yourselves. We will control any actions that involve money either with our own staff. You may, for example, be ask to do a delivery which we have already paid for. Please also do not accept any cash donations or tips. Where we have requested that you pay for something for someone we will reimburse you and charge the person via the office. 

If your asked directly by the person you have gone to help to do something else, please do not do it, please ask them to contact the main helpline again and the request will be triaged through the process again. This is important because it may identity someone who has high needs and should be accessing a different level of this or other services.

Once you have completed the task please contact the coordinator who gave you the task and let them know that it has been completed and report any concerns you may have to them.

Concerns escalation

In the first instance please report any concerns to the area coordinator who gave you the task to complete, they will report this back up line to The Ark and we will respond accordingly.

If for any reason you do not want to tell the coordinator, please contact The Ark directly and report your concern.

Online safeguarding vulnerable adults training is available for all volunteers.

Data Protection

Before we share your contact information with the area coordinators they are agreeing to keep your personal information safe and secure and to only use it for the purpose of this community response. If you feel at anytime that your information is used in a way that is not for the community response please raise your concern with Chris Taylor and we will investigate and where necessary escalate in accordance with data protection regulations. For data protection concerns; please email Chris directly at: chris@theark.org.uk

Health and Safety

• If you feel or become ill, please do not accept a task from the coordinator and let them know. Please also tell us so that you can be suspended from the list until you are well again
• Stay 2m from other people
• At someone's front door, do not come into direct contact with them, ring the bell or knock, then step back 2m
• Ensure the person collects what they asked for
• Practice good hand hygiene
• Do not to accept cash donations or tips