A SAINTS FC charity has pledged to help the city's isolated and lonely during the coronavirus crisis.

Full-time staff from Saints Foundation are volunteering to help Communicare charity support and maintain safe social contact with its vulnerable service users.

It follows the Daily Echo's promise to highlight any positive community initiatives and good causes to our readers through our There With You campaign.

The campaign aims to support residents and commit to shine a light on unsung heroes in our community - such as Saints Foundation, Communicare and the NHS.

Communicare is a neighbourhood charity that wants to eradicate loneliness and isolation in Southampton with the assistance of its band of Communiteers, who volunteer to give their time freely.

As the football charity can no longer "work in the way it normally does", 11 members of the Southampton Football Club charity are helping to make essential visits to the vulnerable - at a safe social distance.

Communicare’s Manager, Annie Clewlow, said: “This is a wonderful, very welcome boost to our Communiteer numbers and it is particularly helpful having support like this, as it’s not just the number of people and the time they can give us that’s important.

"We’re also linking with an organisation where they can lend us staff or volunteers already DBS checked.

“This is speeding up the process of us actually getting people out and about making essential visits, at a safe social distance, to some of the city’s elderly and vulnerable, who desperately need our support. These people are a godsend.

"We provided a vital lifeline to those in need before the current situation and now our service is more relevant and essential than ever."

Head of Saints Foundation and Community Partnerships, Greg Baker said: “We have the people power available and are more than happy to help another important charity in our city with its vital work. Our team is unable to work at the moment in the way it normally does.

"However, as our ethos is to use the power and passion of the club to transform lives in and around Southampton, we thought this was a good fit for the work we do already in the community.”

Communicare’s Good Neighbours’ Network normally supports nearly 400 individuals and families annually.

While the Communicare offices are now closed, staff are available via email and social media.

To contact Communicare, follow the charity on Twitter at @Communicare_SO or log on to www.facebook.com/CommunicareInSouthampton.