Like many other charities across the country, we were unable to continue promoting our Safe Places Shropshire initiative. We could not take part in car boot sales and bucket collections at supermarkets and hospitals were out of the question. The team were effectively grounded and potential signing-up days were put on hold indefinitely.
Fortunately, our team avoided going down with Covid and were able to hold zoom meetings to discuss our plan of action for the future when the UK would resume business as usual.
We decided that it was vitally important for the future of the scheme that we should create our own website. We had been budgeting for this for some time. However, due to Covid, our plans had to be put on hold. The team knew what it wanted from a website. The most important item would be on the front page, where users could immediately find a Safe Place if they were intending to visit a town.
But before we could start looking for Web Designers, we needed to raise more money.
Ruby, our Chair, was able to use her time to submit bids for funding to various organisations. We were fortunate to be successful and to receive funding from the Midlands Co-op. This funding meant that when things got back to normal, we could start to look for a designer.
We all found that we had extra time on our hands, but it was not wasted. Ruby and Ann discovered that they both had hedgehogs visiting their gardens regularly overnight.
Feeding them and providing water was essential during the long hot summer months of 2020. Both Ruby and Ann were rewarded with some great photos and videos of their regular visitors.
Considering that they are solitary creatures, there was frequently more than one caller at the feeding station.
Safe Places Shropshire provides Safe Havens for Hedgehogs