'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. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to my Blog!

Image
     'A Wonderful World'. Living happily in a world of chaos.               Hello!  My name is Danielle Saunders. I'm twenty two years old and currently living in Kent. I've started this blog to help others like me. With my fair share of mental battles and mountains to climb, I hope to help remove the unnecessary stigma that still seems to surround mental health. As human beings, just as our bodies are constantly  tested, so are our minds. Particularly during the current pandemic, nothing is for certain. We can only focus on what's now and here in the present, moving forwards through recognising what we can do to prioritise our own and others safety and well-being. It's reassuring to remember we all facing this together.  I will be sharing advice on living freely in a world of chaos. We cannot control everything, in this crazy world we live in we're often faced with change and unknown.  I hope to use this blog to provide reassurance and guidance, although we
Read more

'POWER IN PILATES' WITH LAUREN RUTHERFORD

Image
EVER THOUGHT ABOUT PILATES? Over the past few decades, Pilates has grown in popularity. A form of exercise that focuses on improving posture, flexibility, strength and rehabilitation post injury. The core is the central focus of all movement. Some forms use mats and others use equipment, including reformer Pilates which provides added resistance. Since it originated, it aims to focus on 6 elements: Concentration, Centring, Control, Breathing, Precision and Flow. It's very similar to Yoga, but traditionally yoga is the practice of connecting the mind and body through breath, whereas Pilates is a system of exercises that emphasise core engagement to promote functional movement of the body. With the rise in conversation and hype around certain fields of exercise across the media and social platforms, there's been an increase in exposure to things like HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and over lockdown, running. Despite the benefits of incorporating these styles of training
Read more

'LIBERATION IN ART?' WITH SOPHIA GABRIELIDES

Image
"OUR BODIES ARE INCREDIBLE, AND THE POWER OF ART MEANS WE CAN CELEBRATE THIS THROUGH A DIFFERENT MEDIUM." With time at home, jobs on the line and a yearning to combat boredom and anxiety throughout Lockdown, many of us have turned to pastimes to keep us entertained and busy. Sophia Gabrielides has done just that and taken a leap by creating her own small business for her paintings.  But these paintings are more than just an opportunity to express and experiment with her love of art, they are empowering and liberating others. Social media continues to have a huge influence in our lives and it can often be the first thing we turn to when filling time. Despite the positives that come out of these platforms including building connections, they can also cause us to dive head first into unnecessary behaviours and thought patterns. Whether it be comparing to others or spending our time looking at others lives rather than living our own, we can find ourselves being overly critical of
Read more