The Huddersfield Town Supporters’ Association (HTSA) and Co-operative Care Colne Valley (CCCV) have teamed up to distribute personal protective equipment to frontline workers and voluntary groups in the Colne Valley and Huddersfield.
This initiative has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Merseyside PPE Hub, a partnership between Fans Supporting Foodbanks and the Lydiate Learning Trust. On Saturday 9th May, volunteers from the hub delivered 5,000 plastic face visors to football fans’ groups up and down the country, with a consignment of 1,000 allocated to HTSA.
Ian Byrne, Member of Parliament for Liverpool, West Derby, and co-founder of Fans Supporting Foodbanks, stated:
“We are delighted once again to work with our comrades from Fans Supporting Foodbanks across the country, but this time supplying PPE to frontline workers created in solidarity from across Liverpool. Many thanks to LLT-PPE for pulling together the magnificent donation of 5,000 visors to go to workers across the region who scandalously are being left short of PPE when working to protect our communities. This really is a true example of solidarity—not charity—between communities.”
HTSA Co-Chair Jim Chisem commented:
“The compassion and determination of our scouse friends never ceases to amaze us. First with foodbanks, now with personal protective equipment. We are immensely grateful for their donation and show of solidarity. To ensure the visors are distributed to those who need them most, we have decided to liaise with the Co-operative Care Colne Valley, an NHS anchor organisation with whom we are already working.”
Richard Murgatroyd, chair of CCCV and Councillor for Golcar, said:
“I can’t think of a better example of different communities co-operating together than this initiative. HTSA and local Mutual Aid Groups have responded brilliantly in the face of this unprecedented crisis in the Colne Valley. But it’s far from over. We need to keep organised as a community to meet needs as they arise. Whether that’s a shortage of visors in our local care homes, a vulnerable person needing shopping or food support to families whose income has collapsed.”