How NGN are Supporting Customer Vulnerability during COVID-19
As companies up and down the country adjust to the ‘new normal’ during the coronavirus outbreak, our partners at Northern Gas Networks (NGN) have outlined an extensive plan to support customers in vulnerable situations and promote community volunteering amongst the workforce.
Supporting customers facing issues of vulnerability has always been a key priority at NGN, and an increased emphasis has been placed on looking out for others during the Covid-19 pandemic. NGN’s response includes a company-wide policy enabling employees to carry out unlimited, paid voluntary work in their local communities during working hours, giving them the opportunity to balance charitable acts with their full-time day jobs.
NGN have also worked closely with partners, charities and local stakeholders to establish the areas most in need of assistance and have rolled out a £50,000 support fund for Community Partnering Funding, to support charities delivering coronavirus-related initiatives. Alongside this, NGN have also driven a range of support activities, including:
• Offering vans to local supermarket chains to help with delivery services
• Providing telephone support through full-time NGN volunteers, supporting Age UK Gateshead in making telephone calls to their vulnerable clients.
• Developing support packages, filled with supplies for customers in the most need, that can be delivered by operational staff
• Providing PPE for charities who are struggling to get hold of supplies.
• Offering a number of grants, including for the purchase of cool boxes/food cartons, to support meals on wheels, and to Warm Hubs, to allow mobile support in rural off-grid communities.
It seems that we may be faced with the repercussions of the outbreak for some time to come. This means that the work to support customers in vulnerable situations will continue to be of a high importance throughout the pandemic and beyond. Our partners at NGN are passionate about continuing to prioritise support for vulnerable customers and are continually looking to identify new measures to help those most in need.
For full details of the work NGN are doing in offering a helping hand to customers who are most at risk from the pandemic, click here.
You can also find advice and information on the wide range of volunteering opportunities within your local community here.
For all of the latest updates and information from the EIC in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
