local Leaving our homes for only essential food and medical supplies, to give vital care, and for just one form of exercise a day - for almost three months this was how we lived. We were confined to the four walls of our homes and to our gardens. Grandparents could not see their grandchildren and best friends were banned from meeting. Streets were deserted. Support groups could no longer meet face to face. They were scary and deeply worrying times.
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ut our hearts were still full of care for those around us. An Office For National Statistics survey in April found that just over half the adults they questioned had been offered help from others, should they need to self-isolate or become poorly. This soared to an incredible 83.3 per cent of those surveyed who were 70 and over. Throughout our area groups were formed to look after locals. Collection of prescriptions, shopping, and having a friendly chat on the phone were just some of the ways kind-hearted residents made a massive difference. At a time when people were genuinely frightened to go out – from a selection of people surveyed in May, 41 per cent did not feel safe leaving their homes because of the threat of coronavirus (ons.gov.uk) – ordinary people stepped up and did extraordinary things. One of these local heroes was Keira Williamson, who founded The Spalding And Pinchbeck COVID Kindness Team. She summed up the situation pretty perfectly when she told us, ‘we rely on one another to not only survive, but to thrive too. When you support one person, that creates a ripple effect, and the Kindness Team certainly made waves.’ Keira’s dream team responded to around 4000 individual support requests, delivered 1500 care packages, and also distributed 10,000 fresh fruit and veg bags, making a massive difference to many. Keen to help the community and with
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Spalding And Pinchbeck COVID Kindness
Team, pictured by Sally Lucy Photography.
kindness at the forefront of her mind, Keira explained, ‘I started a Facebook page in anticipation of Lockdown, and asked if anyone would be willing to come on board.’ And caring people certainly did come forward. ‘We are all volunteers,’ she explained. ‘Most of us were still working, some of us with children to look after and some working frontline. There are 12 amazing committee members and close to 200 active volunteers. The Kindness Team would not have been what it was without the effortless kindness given by everyone within the volunteer team. Whether they were out shopping, picking up prescriptions, helping us pack the fruit and veg, picking up fresh produce for us, delivering care packages or answering phone calls, it was a big task with a big volume and everyone just pulled together with nothing but kindness in mind. Our towns should be
so proud of the people who live here. It’s so easy to focus on the negatives but these positives far outweigh them.’ Keira formed the team as soon as vulnerable groups were told to self-isolate, before Lockdown was announced. She said, ‘with the demand on supermarkets and no structure in place to assist these people, we wanted to help those in need with vital support such as prescription pick-ups, essential shopping, emergency food parcels for those affected financially due to COVID, and wellbeing check-ins. As well as providing this, we wanted to create as much kindness and sense of community as we could. In survival situations, it can be so easy to slip into individual perspectives but the reality is we are a collaborative and community species. We wanted the community to remember this.
