On a recent visit to the Isle of Wight Help Advice Centre in Newport, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne met with volunteers, staff and trustees of Citizens Advice IW.
The charity’s Chief Officer Paul Savill guided The Princess Royal around the new, bright and accessible space. HRH spoke to volunteers who had received long service awards.
Isle of Wight Council’s Help Centre team and Age UK IW, who also work from the Advice Centre, were represented at the visit.
Princess Anne saw a demonstration of ‘Attend Anywhere’ – a video platform Citizens Advice IW is using to help replace face to face meetings with clients as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. This allows the adviser or the client to share documents or important information in a confidential online interview.
As numbers were limited for the actual visit volunteers talked to Princess Anne via Zoom explaining how they had moved to working from home and were now helping Islanders on the phone. This has proved to be very effective with more people than ever seeking advice information and guidance from the service. Princess Anne thanked everyone present for the way they have helped the community during lockdown and for the flexibility they have shown to carry on working.
Paul Savill said:
“I was very proud to introduce our team to Princess Ann. It was lovely, especially for the volunteers, to have their work and efforts recognised. The charity has been incredibly busy since lockdown and we have been continuing to expand our volunteer base to cover the new ways of working on the phone and online”
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For more information visit https://www.citizensadviceiw.org.uk/ or phone 01983 823898.
