Covid-19

A Message from HM Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey,
Michael More-Molyneux

Welcome to the re-designed and refreshed Lieutenancy Website.  I do hope you will find it a helpful source of news about achievement, contribution, community support and areas of need throughout Surrey, in addition to all the information it provides about the Lieutenancy and its work on behalf of the county.  We also want it to be useful to you as somewhere you can find helpful contact information for a wide range of Surrey charities and organisations, not just during the present crisis but for the long-term.

I write this as the UK enters the next phase of the pandemic in which the lockdown rules which have governed our lives since late March begin to be eased, and businesses and social amenities begin to re-open.  But the brutal impact of the pandemic remains with us, and it will undoubtedly be some time before our lives can resume anything like a normal pattern.  The cost to human life has been truly heart-breaking.  My sympathy goes out to every one of you who has lost loved ones and friends, and I send my very best wishes to those who may be suffering from the virus.  I also know the debt of gratitude we all feel to the front-line public, social, business and volunteer services who continue to work round the clock so tirelessly to keep us safe and enable us to maintain our own lives at this time of great challenge.

It is heartening to see around Surrey – as I have had the privilege myself – so many inspiring acts of commitment and courage to protect both the most vulnerable in particular, and to take care of the community in general.  A number of organisations and charities in Surrey that the Lieutenancy supports have played a central role in ensuring the delivery of front-line support where it has been needed.  The Coronavirus Support Fund, launched in March by the Community Foundation for Surrey, has raised more than £1.25 million, and has been able to make invaluable grants to local charities and vital community causes.  Their work has been matched in different ways, albeit on a smaller scale, by countless local charities, community groups, organisations and businesses across the county.  

On this website we feature examples of the extraordinary work of individuals and communities around our county, and we are highlighting information on the response across Surrey to safeguard lives during the Covid-19 epidemic.  This is an uplifting reflection of just that need to work together with a common goal at a moment of unprecedented challenge which Her Majesty spoke of in her message to the nation last month.

An important focus of the Lieutenancy’s work has always been to shine a light on people and organisations who make a positive difference to the life of our county.  Now we are stepping up this effort, as I hope you will see reflected in the website.  Although our work on the ground is at present inevitably limited, I and my Deputy Lieutenants will continue to do all we can to support the vital work which so many are contributing to the needs of the people of Surrey.

This comes with my very best wishes to you and your families.

Michael More-Molyneux
HM Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey

15th June 2020

The full message from Her Majesty The Queen, 19th March 2020 can be found at: www.royal.uk