Civic Spirit

During this strange and in many ways daunting time and whilst we’re socially isolating, it would be easy to feel worried about the future and cut off from one of the many things that makes humans so special – our ability to empathise and support one another. However, I’ve felt reassured and at times a little overwhelmed by the community spirit I feel in my own neighbourhood and what I’ve read about actions that are taking place all around the world: I would like to share some of them with you.

1. The volunteers who are delivering postcards offering support to people who are isolating. Ours was delivered by a lady and her two small children, one of whom had written the card for us! I feel very grateful that people in my local area will give their time to help others in this way.

2. A BBC article shared the story of Mr Puri, a senior citizen, in Panchkula, India who lives alone. On his birthday he was visited by local police who brought him a birthday hat and cake and sang Happy Birthday to him. What a wonderful way to show an individual just how important they are in the community!

3. The Kindness Pandemic, a group I came across on Facebook. This group encourages people to carry out small acts of kindness (they give suggestions of things to do such as writing a letter to say thank you to your postman and sticking it on the outside of your letter box for them to read) and it also enables people to share acts of kindness that they’ve seen and done. They explain that they set the group up because ‘so many people need acts of kindness right now; and so many others want to hear stories of kindness.’

4. There are also examples of charities distributing food to people in need, maybe because they’re ill, they’ve lost their jobs or because they are self-isolating. One such charity is SOFEA in Didcot. This local charity always does incredible work distributing food to those that really need it but during the pandemic they have increased their capacity and are delivering 3,000 - 5,000 food parcels a week across Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes. The work that will go into producing and delivering the parcels and also fund raising to make all of this possible is phenomenal and I feel very grateful to live and work in a community that will support one another in this way.

I’ll leave you with a statement from The Kindness Pandemic page which really struck a chord with me: ‘Kindness won’t make COVID-19 go away, but it will make our lives easier and more rewarding’.

How can you be kind to those around you this week? I hope you and your families are safe and well, take care.