People Can- Make a Difference.
April 9, 2020
I always struggle to answer when people ask me what my job is but always answer that it is the best job ever because I get to see the very best of people who make a difference every day.
Now, with the current crisis, that power for good has been multiplied so much in so many new ways. Across the district we are seeing new relationships being built between neighbours, communities and organisations to ensure that nobody is left behind. When we placed our request for volunteers to respond we were inundated with almost 2000 registrations in a matter of days who wanted to support the most vulnerable people across the district.
I’ve fielded emails and messages from individuals offering their time for things such as dog walking for those who are self isolating, registering to foster the pets of those fleeing domestic abuse to cooking an extra meal each day for a neighbour who lives alone. Then we have the grassroots organisations that planned new ways of delivering their services in a matter of days. The community centres that used to run lunch clubs for older people now make a daily phone call for a chat and deliver a three course meal (or lunch and dinner) to their regulars so that they still feel a part of the community. Schools that are still open for the children of keyworkers are also playing their part. One school is using their design / technology studios to make visors which they are donating to the hospitals, GP surgeries and pharmacies and another has students writing letters for distribution to local, isolated older people who feel absolute joy at receiving handwritten letters.
People report that the simplest things make the biggest difference. A smile, a wave and a friendly word from everyone they encounter when out for a walk, the genuine feeling of being part of a community when everyone shows kindness and courtesy in the supermarkets. Out of necessity we are all learning new ways of working and living together and in the words of the world’s greatest wizard Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
Michelle Taylor, People Can Coordinator.