Shrewsbury Town working to raise spirits

The coronavirus pandemic means everyone in the UK is adjusting to a new way of life with people only allowed to leave their homes for essential journeys.

Last week Town chief executive Brian Caldwell revealed he has contacted the NHS and Shropshire Council to see if the club can help in any way.

Those talks are still ongoing.

But now the club has turned its attentions to keeping fans engaged at home.

Anyone wanting to learn French can take part in online classes with Town star Romaine Vincelot.

There is also a fitness section for fans who want to keep fit at home which includes an arm-chair aerobics programme for the elderly.

Children who are off school can also access their own online journal.

As well as providing educational maths and literacy tasks, youngsters can also win prizes by checking on a neighbour and doing jobs to help out at home.

Shrewsbury are also working on becoming a community hub.

It means people will be able to call the club if they don't know where to turn for help in the community – with Town establishing a contacts book of charities and non-for-profit organisations across Shropshire.

"We have got lots of things up and running to help support people while they are at home," said Jamie Edwards - chief executive of Shrewsbury Town in the Community.

"We know what a tough and worrying time this is for everyone.

"But what we are trying to do is find a positive.

"We are in lockdown for three weeks but that gives a lot of us the chance to spend some quality time with our families.

"And we want to help by providing resources that are helpful and entertaining for everybody.

"We are also looking into becoming a community hub so people can give us a call if they need help.

"We can then hopefully put them in touch with the right organisation.

"This are tough times but everyone at Shrewsbury is determined to help the best we can."

All the initiatives launched by Shrewsbury can be found Shrewsburytowninthecommunity.com