a minute of kindness
A chef who is in recovery for addiction is helping to feed the most vulnerable members of his community. Nathan Pollard from Newcastle is volunteering at a community cafe which is delivering around 400 food parcels to people every week. He says that giving back is a key step in his own recovery, at a time when giving back matters more than ever.
Alberto Salas arrived in London from Mexico six months ago to work as a Spanish professor at Greenwich University. However, due to coronavirus, his classes were suspended. Stuck in the UK with nothing to do, he offered lessons on a social networking service, to see if his neighbours would be interested in learning. He soon received messages from locals in Lewisham and started teaching them via Skype for free.
This young gardener has been planting flowers, fruit and vegetables with his mother on lockdown. He also started a YouTube channel to teach people some tips for growing their own.
A 19-year-old from London is helping to raise the spirits of vulnerable people affected by the coronavirus outbreak by dishing out arguably the most delicious food of all – pizza. Alfie Fletcher, along with his sister Amber and girlfriend Allegra Della Ragione, decided to offer free homemade Neapolitan pizzas to homeless people and frontline workers. Called Pandemic Pizza and served from the back of his Land Rover Fletcher says he will continue to donate his wood-fired snacks until the money he has raised runs out.
Mr Choudhury, who was fasting for Ramadan, initially made a pledge to raise £1,000 for victims of COVID19. He set a target to complete walking 100 laps while fasting during the month of Ramadan at the communal garden of his house. Within the first 9 hours of setting up a JustGiving page, he already raised more than £200,000.
These creatives have banded together to make memorial videos for people who have passed during the pandemic. The free service helps families to grieve their loved ones, whilst regular funerals and services are temporarily unavailable on lockdown.
A farm shop owner in east Hampshire has been delivering food parcels to key workers. He was inspired by an NHS nurse’s emotional plea for people to stop panic buying and leaving shop shelves empty. William Benson, who owns Applegarth Farm in Grayshot, has since helped to raise £3,000 for front-line NHS staff and care-home workers and delivered dozens of food packages since lockdown began in March.
Tristan Van den Bosch was driving to work, looking at a man shouting three floors up to his mother at a nearby building. He had the idea of using cranes to lift people, so they can see relatives on the upper floors without entering the building. Van den Bosch has been driving his cranes to homes in several towns across Belgium ever since, hoisting whole families to their relatives' windows.
52-year-old Faizah Badaruddin, suddenly had a hard time communicating with people, when she could no longer read lips due to face masks. Alongside her husband Imam, who is also deaf, They came up with a design that includes a clear plastic window over the mouth area, so people can see the wearer's lips move. The couple can make up to 20 masks each day, and largely receives orders through word-of-mouth.
Maisie Catt lost her legs when she was a baby due to meningitis and septicaemia. Now walking on blades, she decided to walk a marathon in her garden and on a treadmill, to raise money for a struggling amputee charity.