Four Dumfriesshire women have been invited to the Queen’s garden party in recognition of their positive work in the community.
Laura Thomas, Cheryl McCormack, Shona Hannah and Samantha Lockhart run the Helping Dumfries and Galloway Facebook page.
And they have been invited to Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh tomorrow as a thank you for their voluntary work. Laura created the page to support those in need during the pandemic.
She said: “My son has Addison’s Disease, a rare adrenal disorder which leads to a crisis if not managed with correct doses of steroids.
“I set up a group to see if anyone else was facing difficulties with finding things during the pandemic.
“I was surprised that in 15 minutes I had 100 people joining the group, followed by 1,000 within an hour and now we have over 13,000 members.”
The four are delighted by the invite. Laura added: “We are still shocked. It is something you don’t expect to be doing in your lifetime.
“We all worked hard during the pandemic and continue to support our community. We had people looking for baby milk and nappies because they were isolating and we managed to get it sorted for them within 10 minutes, often quicker.
“We were able to get prescriptions for those in isolation and get essential shopping for people. Cheryl and I delivered food parcels.
“Those first few weeks we barely had time to do anything else, it was constant. Membership grew quickly and we had to deal with private messages all the time.
“I am proud of the group and the sense of community they continue showing.”
The Queen was unable to attend royal garden parties held in London earlier this year due to health issues and it is uncertain if she will attend.
The 96-year-old monarch will be represented by other members of the family if not.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla hosted the first party of the season in May.
Laura said: “We don’t know who is going to attend at Holyroodhouse but we are looking forward to meeting everyone and celebrating our achievements.”
