Message from Community Christmas Thame
Naturally it is with great regret that we cannot hold a true Community Christmas Thame this year due to COVID-19. We would not want to be putting vulnerable people at risk so we are changing the format for 2020.
At this stage we believe we will be able to deliver meals to those people who are at risk of being alone on Christmas Day so therefore we will still be looking for volunteers to help us with this.
Most likely the day will go a little like this:
Depending on current government guidelines, we will need volunteers to peel carrots and potatoes, prepare vegetables etc. on Christmas Eve. This activity has previously been held at the Thomas household and so we would like to think this can happen again, but it will depend on what restrictions are in place at the time.
If not, we may ask volunteers to collect the vegetables and peel/chop them at home and drop them back to Queens Close for cooking.
On Christmas Day morning, we will be preparing plates of food for anyone who has requested a Christmas Day meal. We will most likely be asking volunteers to collect a couple of meals (again from Queens Close) and deliver them to our guests with a gift and a cracker.
We will open up a registration form for anyone you know who may want this service. Just to clarify, the meal is FREE! CCT is lucky to have been supported by many local businesses over the years and we are able to offer this absolutely free of charge. I know right! Amazing!
We are expecting a slightly higher volume of deliveries than other years as there may be many more people who have been identified as being vulnerable and isolated. This is not restricted to just the elderly population of Thame – it includes all ages. We do not want to see ANYONE alone or lonely on Christmas Day, so make sure that your neighbours know about us, whatever their age!
We will be doing a full risk assessment and all volunteers will have access to gloves and masks, if required, on the day. All gifts will be wrapped in advance and kept for a minimum of 72 hours to reduce contamination. CCT will be following all current guidelines to avoid exposing anyone, volunteers and “guests” to unnecessary risk of catching COVID-19.
Do not be surprised if we have to ask volunteers to check their temperatures on the day and obviously to phone and inform us if anyone, or anyone they have been in contact with, has the symptoms of the virus.
Lastly, and very importantly, some of you will know that last year was going to be my last year of doing CCT as Kerry Knight was taking over officially. Tragically, Kerry died this year. I know many of you will want to pay your respects and therefore please feel free to write a message on the CCT Facebook page. Her girls have made the difficult decision not to lead CCT this year, which I am sure you will agree, is perfectly understandable. I would like to express my personal gratitude for all the wonderful things Kerry has done for Community Christmas Thame, all the time she invested in it and the enthusiasm and humour she brought to the day. We will miss her terribly, so please raise a toast to her memory on Christmas Day.
To see how you may be able to help this year please go to the website: Community Christmas Thame.
Date posted: Thursday 29 October 2020