Citylife in Lichfield July and August 2020

30
Greyhound Trust
Hall Green
By Lauren Hirst
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They say every cloud has a silver lining. Here at Greyhound Trust
Hall Green our silver lining during the Covid-19 crisis has been the
huge success of our foster placements. A gargantuan effort was made
by our volunteers to find suitable foster carers for about 30 dogs
before lockdown, taking extra care to match the right dogs and carers.
We don’t often celebrate failure but most of our foster dogs are now
“failed fosters” and have been adopted by their foster families!
Fostering also helped us considerably reduce our kennelling bills
(around £4,000pcm) at a time when our funding streams dried up
overnight. All our events were cancelled, with donations from trainers
and adoption donations on hold, our volunteers put their collective
creative minds together and turned our fundraising into virtual events,
raising close to £2,000 via an online dog show, auction, birthday
sponsors, head shaves, virtual walks and individual donations! Thank
you to EVERYONE who helped us to stay afloat during these difficult
‘We’re Good to Go’
Industry Standard for
Lichfield
times.
Our homing kennels are now open for limited hours by appointment
only (we’re sorry that due to limitations on numbers allowed on-site
we are not accepting applications for new volunteers at this time).
Lockdown has forced us all to re-evaluate what is important to us and
many have decided that having a dog will enrich their lives. Have a look
at our website for dogs looking for their forever sofas, plus see other
ways to support the Trust, at www.greyhoundtrusthallgreen.org.uk.
Image courtesy of VisitBritain.
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Visit Lichfield is urging local tourism and hospitality businesses to
achieve the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard to reassure
customers they are Covid-secure.
VisitEngland, in partnership with VisitBritain, has launched a UK-wide
industry standard and consumer mark to provide confidence for
tourism as the sector works towards reopening.
The ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard and supporting mark
means businesses can demonstrate they are adhering to government
and public health guidance, have carried out a Covid-19 risk assessment,
and checked they have the required processes in place.
The scheme is free to join and open to all businesses across the
industry.
Businesses must complete a self-assessment through the online
platform at https://goodtogo.visitbritain.com/ including a check-list
confirming they have put the necessary processes in place, before
receiving certification and the ‘We’re Good To Go’ mark to display in
their premises and online.
The self-assessment includes specific guidelines for sectors including
accommodation, visitor attractions, restaurants and pubs, business
conference and events venues and tour and coach operators with
signposting to further industry and trade association guidance as
required.
In England businesses align with the UK government’s official guidance
for the sector including ‘Working Safely during Covid-19: Visitor
Economy’. An ‘alert’ system ensures that businesses signed up to the
standard are notified of any changes to the official guidance. A callhandling
service provides support and assessors would also carry-out
random spot-checks to ensure adherence.
The ‘We’re Good To Go’ scheme is being operated by VisitEngland
who has been running assessment schemes for many years.
Alongside the industry standard, VisitEngland is also launching a Know
Before You Go public information campaign to support tourism in
England as businesses start to re-open, reassuring visitors as restrictions
are lifted by checking about what it is safe to do and when and signposting
to information about destinations and available services before
travelling.