The Duke of Cambridge has become Patron of the National Emergencies Trust (NET) for 2020.

The announcement came as The Duke spoke with grassroots charities who are recipients of the NET’s Coronavirus Appeal.

On Thursday 9th April The Duke of Cambridge talked via videolink to local charities in Yorkshire and Powys, Wales about the challenges they are facing and how they are using NET funding to support their communities.

The Duke heard first from Moorlands Community Charity in the East Riding of Yorkshire, who run a food bank and are delivering freshly cooked hot meals to increasing numbers of isolated individuals. They have seen a significant rise in referrals to the service since the outbreak of Covid-19. The charity is also delivering one of the Government Support Hubs to care for the critical needs of isolated residents in the community, and accessed NET funding extremely quickly in order to purchase emergency rations of female sanitary products, nappies, baby milk powder and toilet rolls, that had been in short supply due to stockpiling.

On his call to Dal Dy Dir - a community farm in Powys, Wales that supports people with disabilities and other marginalised groups - The Duke heard how the organisation have been changing the way they work to meet the guidelines of isolation. Dal Dy Dir have been using NET funding to continue offering support to families caring for children with challenging behaviours, in addition to distributing food parcels to the community and growing emergency supplies of vegetables to ensure the increased demand for food delivery to their vulnerable users can be met.

The Duke spoke at the launch of the National Emergencies Trust in November 2019 and launched their Coronavirus Appeal in March which has since raised millions of pounds.

The NET was created in 2019 as a result of discussions held within the charitable sector about how to effectively respond to national emergencies following recent devastating tragedies, including the Grenfell Tower fire, and the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester in 2017. The Trust works collaboratively with charities and other bodies to direct public donations to NET appeals, and to distribute funds fairly and efficiently through community foundations across the UK.