As many lockdown restrictions are beginning to lift, we are preparing to move from the first stage of our approach to the pandemic (#ActingNow) into the second phase of our approach to supporting local community projects and charities during the Covid-19 pandemic - to #Reconnect.

We are now looking at how we can safely begin to #Reconnect, to come back together, and to start to repair the cost of separation.

We need to reconnect with groups in the community who are isolated, reconnect with nature, and reconnect with our teams and colleagues.

We need to reconnect with elderly and vulnerable people in our community who have been in lockdown for 13 weeks now and do not have an end date in sight. We have been working hard behind the scenes to create virtual ways for our volunteers to connect and befriend with these groups in order to reduce isolation and reconnect them with the outside world. Our virtual methods need no Wi-Fi, no tech skills and are at no cost to the isolated groups, ensuring everyone and anyone can be reached and get involved.

We need to reconnect with nature and continue our #BrightenUpLondon work. During this time many parks, green spaces and forest schools have been neglected due to the restrictions in place in the UK. We are working on volunteering safely in these outdoor areas whilst continuing to abide by Government guidance and health and safety measures.

We need to reconnect with our corporate volunteer teams. Volunteering is a great way to reconnect with our colleagues and give back to local communities. We have many volunteering opportunities for companies looking at working together but from home, on projects to support our charity partners as things slowly start to return to a new normality.

This time of crisis is going to be a marathon not a sprint. In order to continue to support community projects now and into the future, we have to ask something we wouldn't usually ask of our supporters. If we have the financial capacity we can scale our response and support to our local communities, and continue our work to #BeTheChange we want to see.

In order to support our charity partners to keep their doors open to those most vulnerable in society and most susceptible to Covid-19, we are creating projects that allow volunteers to give their time virtually or remotely. This will highly impact charities that may otherwise have to shut down, and may be unable to open again in the future.

Donations will give us the funding to provide corporate and individual volunteers with the tools, skills and support to aid our community projects through this difficult time and ensure they can help their clients now and into the future.

Thank you all so much for your on-going support, it is inspiring to see the passion, flexibility and commitment from our Friends during this time of crisis, and that our society is coming back together again, to #reconnect and support each other through these difficult times.