We want to introduce you to some of the amazing people around Andover that are giving up their time, using their skills and helping others.
Meet Keith Skitt… he’s a volunteer at the Andover Isolation Help Group.
Don’t call Keith Skitt a ‘Brummy’, you can tell by the remnants of his Black Country accent that he’s from Wolverhampton.
A retired MD for a global heavy equipment company, Keith has been instrumental in the logistics and operation of the Andover Isolation Help Group. He says, “When this all started I looked around for ways to help.
“I was impressed with the Group and how quickly they started being of benefit“.
Keith who lives on Saxon Fields started three weeks ago where he would wait in pharmacy queues for up to five hours a day. “When you’re collecting 24 individual prescriptions, I thought there must be a more efficient way.”
Keith is “the brilliant instigator of the way we now collect and deliver prescriptions,” says Isolation Group coordinator Victoria Harber. “He really is a lockdown legend and an unsung hero”.
Since Wednesday the Andover Isolation Help Group have been collecting all prescriptions for people over 65 and delivering them, thanks to a team of almost 40 volunteers.
Keith is one of many people who have often thought about volunteering but never done anything about it. “This seemed the perfect opportunity to offer my help and make an actual difference to peoples’ lives”, he told 95.9FM Andover Radio earlier this week.
A keen guitar player, Keith says “I play The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen – that can be quite challenging – even a bit of Taylor Swift.”
So rather than sitting on his sofa being a ‘6-string guitar hero’, a very relaxed Keith volunteers every day for the group based at the Queen Charlotte Inn, but some things do trouble him.
While collecting prescriptions earlier this week, Keith had hand-sanitisers stolen from the boot of his car. He concludes, “It just proves that no good deed goes unpunished”.
You can support Keith’s work at the Andover Isolation Help Group by donating to their GoFundMe page here.
