'LOVE IN LOCKDOWN' EPISODE 5: 'THE BIG WALK...'

So far my 'Love In Lockdown' series has been made up of others stories and experiences, selfless acts carried out by other people to help support those in need. This week I'm sharing my own story.

After researching, learning about so many charities and hearing the inspiring stories of others and how they're offering support, I wanted to get involved and help those in need in any way I can. Even more so after learning that there are so many simple ways to offer support, every little goes a long way, and due to Covid19 this is a particularly challenging time for everyone. 

Today, the 13th of December, I took part in a 10K walk to raise money for the charity 'Shelter'.

Shelter is a charity that helps to combat homelessness with advice, support and legal services. For every £1 you donate, 79p is spent directly on helping people through advice, campaigning and support, and 21p is spent on fundraising. If you are concerned about someone you have seen sleeping rough, you can contact 'Streetlink': https://www.streetlink.org.uk/ which sends the details and an alert to the local authority or outreach service to help find the individual and connect them to support.

Around a month ago I set up a donation page for the walk, and I've managed to raise £250. My auntie also took part with me and raised just under £200, so together we raised over £400 for the charity. Giving and helping those in need doesn't have to be complicated, a simple walk, setting up a just giving page and receiving kind donations, and the charity can continue to help those in need.

Today is the last day that you are able to donate on my page to support the charity, anything will be greatly received and appreciated, you can do so via the link: https://thebigwalk.shelter.org.uk/fundraising/danielles-the-big-walk. Thank you!

After signing up to do 'The Big Walk' back in November, I began to question how I could use the opportunity to help those in need in other ways, or how I could support other charities to. My aunt and I decided that the walk would be a great occasion to collect for the local food bank. After deciding that's what we would do I rang the food bank to let them know, just so if anyone questioned it they could confirm it was legitimate and not a hoax. We then created a leaflet which explained that we were doing a walk for 'Shelter' and that we will be collecting for the food bank along the way. We listed items that the food bank accepts and that we would appreciate if they could leave anything they wish to give on their doorstep for us to collect between 12pm and 15:00pm. We printed hundreds and did the same walk we did today last week, posted them through each letter box that we passed so that when we did the walk today we could simply pick up anything that was left out.

The kindness, generosity and support was incredible. So many people left bags of items outside their doors for us to collect. It's amazing how much impact something so simple is going to have on others lives, those that are having to rely on food banks during this challenging time. Buying a few items extra on your weekly shop to support them and keep them running for those in need is something that is so easy to do. 

We collected bags and bags, luckily we had the helping hand of my dad who was there to drive to certain points along the journey to put the bags in the car before continuing the walk. After we got home, we unpacked everything that we were very grateful to receive and we boxed them up into categories, from tins to packaged, cleaning products to personal care, just so when we deliver them to the food bank they are able to quickly and clearly know what the items are and where to store them appropriately. We will deliver everything to the food bank on Tuesday.

Thank you to everyone for the donations and support, it was so lovely seeing first hand the impact communities can have, it's amazing what you can do for so little, especially when you all come together, a little can do a lot.

It's definitely inspired me to keep giving and continue to support charities and those in need in ways that I can. I hope this encourages you to do the same. 

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