Ayr Rugby and their wider community spent much of the lockdown period supporting local social enterprise Unity Grill.Some Government-enforced downtime allowed Ayr Rugby staff, players, members and fans to provide vital support in Unity Grill’s mission to challenge food poverty.
(Image - Voluntary Action South Ayrshire)Over 40 volunteers turned out over the course of lockdown every Friday tallying approximately 350 hours of food delivery to some of South Ayrshire’s most deprived areas.Describing the work Ayr Rugby put in, Unity Grill founder Angela Iver said: “The club helped with food deliveries for our paying and non-paying customers. The extra support meant we didn’t need to think about coordinating deliveries, the club did all of that. We just had to make sure everything was ready to go and Ayr Rugby did the rest.“It also allowed us to reach much further than just Ayr. Some weeks deliveries were going as far as Girvan. This, of course, meant we were able to support many more families who needed some extra help”.Angela insists that it wasn’t just Unity Grill who were thankful for Ayr Rugby’s support: “Club members were able to build up relationships with the recipients who were maybe a little wary at first. There were often reports of lockdown being eased by deliveries from handsome rugby men and ladies!”Ayr Rugby’s support was recognised by Voluntary Action South Ayrshire who awarded the club £2,000 to aid charitable work in the future.Many thanks to club member and player Nathan Gilmour who was paramount in organising and managing the arrangement. With lockdown restrictions lifting Unity Grill no longer need the extra support - but they know the pink and black army will be on standby for the future.