When the UK went into lockdown, Coast2Coast owners, Mary and David Hanlon, naturally had to close their hire business to the public, but they came up with an idea which would help them support their local community and give something back. They decided to offer up their motorhomes for free to NHS and care home workers who needed a place to stay away from their own families, in self-isolation.
The couple set about sterilising and kitting out the motorhomes, and enlisted help from volunteers within their local community to make it happen.
It didn’t take long for news of the initiative to reach staff at the Truro Calor centre, who had a strong urge to help and donated 12 x 6kg cylinders of LPG fuel to power the nine motorhomes. The gas will ensure occupants have heating, hot water, and the ability to cook on gas.
Mary Hanlon, co-owner of Coast2Coast Motorhome Hire comments: “The response we have had to this initiative has been amazing. We had a local cleaner who volunteered to sterilise the motorhomes; a local plumber who carried out an MOT and safety check for free on each of the vehicles; a local supermarket which donated all of the food for the hampers we have placed in each home; and a Cornish cosmetics company which halted its production to make hand sanitiser and soap for each one.
“When Calor offered to donate the fuel we were over the moon, as it means we can hand each motorhome over with a full tank of gas, and for that, we can’t thank them – or any of our volunteers – enough.”
Coast2Coast has registered itself as an official supplier to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro (Treliske), to take staff on when it reaches capacity. In the meantime, the business has already delivered one motorhome safely to the driveway of a nurse who needed to isolate herself away from her vulnerable family, and delivered a caravan to a care home in Launceston to provide its workers with a place to sleep – many of whom commute for more than two hours at a time.
David Hanlon said: “We have always been customers of Truro Calor centre and can’t say enough good things about them. They have always been professional and very helpful and in this instance, have gone the extra mile to help the wider community out.”
Mary, who is self-isolating herself due to underlying health issues, added: “It’s wonderful to see what we, as a community, can achieve if we all pull together and help each other out. Long may this goodwill continue, when the country returns to normal.”
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}