Group - EKC Group Staff Support Thousands of East Kent Residents During Lockdown
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EKC Group Staff Support Thousands of East Kent Residents During Lockdown

Our recent survey has revealed the phenomenal effort of our staff in supporting communities across East Kent during the lockdown period, with more than 6,000 people estimated to have benefited from our volunteering activities.

Our ‘Social Action During the Lockdown Survey’ attracted 193 responses from staff members based at across our six Colleges in Ashford, Broadstairs, Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone and Sheppey, and our three Business Units.

A fantastic 72.5 per cent of respondents reported taking part in social action and volunteering activities since Coronavirus measures were implemented, with staff rallying to support East Kent communities by carrying out activities such as: sewing scrubs for frontline workers and face coverings; working as NHS Volunteer Responders; purchasing and delivering food for vulnerable residents; raising money for key charities; providing free online tuition; caring for friends, neighbours and relatives; and hosting virtual events, competitions and community initiatives.

The volunteering activities carried out by our staff members, follows in the spirit of our commitment to enhancing and enriching the communities we serve. A commitment which saw us receive the equivalent of an ‘Oscar’ in Further Education earlier this year, when we were announced as the winner of the prestigious ‘Pears #iwill Award for Social Action and Student Engagement’ at the annual Association of Colleges (AoC) Beacon Awards.

Chief Executive Officer Graham Razey said: “As an organisation delivering positive change through social action for the communities we serve is in our DNA. However, it has been a genuine inspiration to me to see just how much colleagues across our Group have been doing, despite facing real challenges themselves. I’m so proud of the actions of all of our staff during this period and am excited for the future as we get set to continue delivering for our local communities when we return to our Colleges in September.”