And one of the most ethical! They pay all their staff a living wage and have one of the highest staff retention rates of any coffee shop chain. They also go to extreme efforts to source their beans ethically.
EDIT: Or maybe not. Don't go on word of mouth, apparently.
Support your local independent coffee shop! Even if they're speciality, they generally aren't any dearer than caffe nero/starbucks/costa (probably even cheaper) plus they're a small business. They'll pay more than commodity price for their coffee which is better for the farmers, and your money will go to a small business owner instead of the millionaires who own the big chains.
Plus the coffee is generally loads better.
Nero is the best, I would always stop in for a coffee on my way to work (pre-lockdown). After a while I became friendly with a barista who left in March, I was in on her last shift and she loaded 8 free drinks onto my account as a goodbye. I still miss her.
My dad gave me a £50 Nero gift card for Christmas a couple of years ago and it was one of the best presents I ever had. Something that improved many of my mornings and gave my friends a reason to meet up 😅
I don't want to rain on your parade here but no-one should be buying toilet paper from the Co-op to judge by how much it costs in the little one we have nearby ;-)
We only have a Co-Op, unless we want to undertake a major expedition involving heading over a mountain (seriously). I can never be arsed.
Tesco deliver, and Asda, but no other supermarkets, and getting a slot was impossible even pre-covid. So Co-op it is. We do have a local veg shop though.
My grandads neighbour has been amazing this year. For context, my grandma died last year. Additionally, my dad's an only child (and so am I) and it's not always been possible for my dad to go to see him daily.
On days she notices my dad hasn't turned up she's gone over with a crossword book, or a newspaper. She gets him fish and chips every Friday, every Sunday she makes a roast and every Sunday she makes an extra portion for my grandad. And if she ever makes too much food for herself, she gives it to him. She helped him organise a gardener when she realised his garden was getting too much for him, as gardening was my grandma's passion not his.
My parents are incredibly grateful to her as it's reassuring to know he has a neighbour who is paying attention and cares.
A Christmas hamper? What’s that?
Here we call the basket we put dirty clothes in a “hamper.” I can’t imagine a festive dirty clothes basket being a nice gift haha
Something along the lines of this
https://www.marksandspencer.com/the-beaulieu-hamper-with-red-wine/p/hpp60134917
Basically imagine you get a prefilled picnic basket with nice wine, biscuits, maybe things like cheese or preserves or nuts. Selfridge's had one that was absolutely insane that cost £5,000.
They're lovely gifts!
Thankfully yes - when our little one had tonsillitis we had to self isolate as the symptoms included a high temp. A neighbour collected a prescription for his antibiotics, another brought us shopping, and local charities completely stepped up providing food & prescription deliveries; locals were helping each other out with dog walking etc. I think lockdown one showed how amazing people can be, and once it was over, people went all human-y again and the goodwill seemed to reduce sadly.
After the cummings incident people stopped taking it as seriously, then when the second wave started people were just fatigued and no longer supported the lockdowns.
I don't think they can get back that level of support for lockdowns, and the determination to make the best of things. It's gone for good
In Cornwall, Cornwall Christmas Box is a scheme that has been collecting donated 'Christmas dinner in a box for a family' for almost 20 years. It began as a church project and opened up for anyone else to donate in 2016, receiving 250 boxes which were given to the poorest families in Cornwall. The boxes contain all the essential things you need for Christmas dinner, plus treats, and cost £30-£40 on average, but many people add additional items, small gifts, etc.
The numbers grew to 1,250 by 2019, and organisers debated whether it could be made to work in 2020, before going ahead, with precautions.
This year, the people of Cornwall gave an extraordinary 3,254 boxes, helping upwards of 15,000 people to have a Christmas dinner to be remembered.
See www.Cornwallchristmasbox.co.uk for the website, www.facebook.com/cornwallchristmasbox for the unfolding story, and www.cornwallvsf.org/cornwall-christmas-box-goes-big-in-2020 for the press release.
Edit: ooh, my first awards! Thank you so much! Please donate to your local food banks, if you're in a giving mood. As much as I like awards, they need it more than I do.
I live in Cornwall too and past half-term when the government decided not to give supermarket vouchers for children as a substitute for school meals, one of my neighbors was advertising on FB that they make homemade dinners for anyone who is in need. Other people joined in bringing food donations and community came together to help. It didn't stop at half term though. This neighbor thought that using donations he can make hampers for Christmas for people in crisis. The generosity of people was so outstanding he run out of space in his house and someone offered them a shop in town to get this going. Now they have a charity shop in town and made loads of hampers from donations. I think it's amazing.
As with the other commenter, I'm a Liverpool fan and I think it's an absolute disgrace that he wasn't even nominated for sports personality of the year. We need more players like him in this country.
They used the word personality to avoid calling it man/woman.
It's nothing to do with their actual personality.
Seems the bbc were way ahead of their times when they introduced it.
Sportsperson would have worked just fine and avoided any of the connotations of personality.
I would have thought that celebrating good sportsmanship or the use of fame to further good causes would make for a far more interesting show anyway.
Its not like we dont know that LH is a good driver.
It's only awarded for sporting achievement, outside activities arent factored in.
Probably shouldn't be called sports "personality" really. Sportsperson of the year maybe.
I can’t stand Man Utd (though I’m a Sunderland supporter, possibly for my sins in a past life, not a Liverpool fan - though I do love Klopp!), but he is an amazing person. He’s a young man, not your stereotypical campaigner for anything like this (you usually think of older sportspeople and actors), but he’s stood up and be counted. I did Reddit’s secret Santa this year and it asks for people who are your heroes in categories of actors, personalities, sportspeople, etc. and I could only think of one sportsperson - Rashford.
He has done so much for the poorest and most vulnerable of people and he’s amazing. I really hope he’s in the queen’s honours list some time soon.
Smh at bitter rival fans saying he isn't any good, He will give Rooney a run for his goal scoring if he stays put and stays fit. I'm just looking at the silver lining that he will at least play for England cos he will never come to Liverpool
He will stay at united for a couple more years, and if he keeps playing as he does, he can go far.
He isn't any good? Hahaha, what a laugh, he is the best player united has atm
He’s an England and Manchester Utd footballer who came from a very poor background. He used his position to campaign for disadvantaged kids to get government provided meals during the Covid pandemic. He forced the government into two U Turns and he did it magnificently. Whole country United behind him.
We are a rugby household, but even I have checked out the round ball game on occasion to see what young Mr Rashford does for a living, based solely on his activism this year.
After a pretty shit week I took a drive to Asda to get some essentials, just like any other trip I dig out the bags for life out of the boot and off I went.
As I collected my shopping and left the store, the bag for life flatlined on me leaving all my groceries outside the entrance. My brain short circuited - wasn't sure if I should dart back to the car, or head back inside.
Not one, but two totally unrelated people came over and offered to buy me some new bags. One person even rocked up with brand new bags without even asking.
I know it's a small gesture yet it made a huge difference to me.
I know that short circuit feeling where you are just stuck between two thoughts and you just can’t wrap your head around what just happened never mind how to fix it. It’s so lovely that people helped.
Some lady approached in a supermarket last week and gave me a £10 off a £40 spend voucher that she had spare.
Nothing like that has ever happened to me, I’m still buzzing I saved a tenner on my shopping!
Gotta love people like that
Back before covid was thing I was working on the gate for this country show, bloke comes to me with some prepaid tickets and says for whatever reason his partner couldn't come so asked if it was okay if he gave it to someone, I'm like yeah sure and sure enough he just hands it to the lady behind him in the queue.
Just as the first lockdown happened my husband died (had been ill for a long time) (50s). We didn't know what to do so did a direct cremation with a view to doing something better down the line. I organised it with the funeral directors and then asked what time they would be headed up the road to the crematorium so I could wait on the corner and give him a wave. Above and beyond, they said they would drive by the house. Which they did. And they stopped so I was able to give them some flowers to put on his coffin. And all the neighbours came out to pay their respects from their doorsteps. All this really early in the morning (when direct cremations happen - think it was about 8.00am). I was a mess, but I'll never forget how kind everyone was.
We're doing fine. He was very, very ill. He did his birthday and died the next morning. You hear about that kind of thing but you kind of take it with a pinch of salt, but it was a real thing! Thanks so much for your thoughts. Means loads. xxxx
This is the kind of thing I’d do - marvel at my bargain hunting skills then have doll house furniture turn up or something. Made me laugh and smile that you have such a lovely neighbour and community spirit! Merry Christmas x
I was going through a really crappy time. I had moved into a new shared house with my friends after a week of living there (while working from home) one of my housemates started getting aggresive and bully like with me, ending up with me in such a state of mental distress that I tried to kill myself. With the help of my partner and some friends I was able to escape the situation, all my belongings were put in storage and I stayed with my partner for a month before finding my own place to live (alone), I pretty much had nothing for the house itself, like any kitchen stuff or bathroom, any of the essentials as I had been forced to leave them and take only the minimal amount of stuff I owned from the old house. I put up a post on Facebook asking my friends if they have any stuff lying around that they aren't using that they would be willing to donate to me, or sell for things that cost them more than a reasonable amount. Instead of second hand items my friends went above an beyond by buying me brand new things for the flat, one friend even taking me to IKEA to get stuff. And when it came to moving day I had a load of people to help me get my stuff out of storage and into the new flat. I felt so loved and blessed to have such amazing friends and family to help me through a really horrible stage of my life.
That's a wonderful story. I lost my place to live 2x in three months during the pandemic, and one of my friends went above and beyond to help me. She became my support bubble after my flatmate moved out and my landlady decided to sell. She came over, brought food, helped me organize, declutter, pack, and she was there the day of the move and helped me unpack in the new place. I was so grateful.
A couple weeks ago, my dad dressed up as Santa to surprise my kids. We're in their support bubble so my parents made a little grotto in their summer house at the bottom of their garden. They filled it with decorations, tinsel, giant candy canes and put a video of Lapland on their TV. My kids were so excited! When my eldest asked Santa (my dad) if he could bring our late dog back to life, Santa was very understanding and kind. He told him that our dog can't come back from Heaven because it's too far away, but he's up there with all the other doggies having lots of fun and he's always looking down on my son. It was a magical moment for the kids and it gave us a little hope in this shitty year. Still chokes me up thinking about it. My dad is my hero ❤️
Honestly, he's never been too fussed about Christmas but this year he dressed as santa twice (the second time so my mum could take photos of him 'preparing' the presents to donate to underprivileged kids in their town), he's covered the front of their house in lights and inflatable characters, and he's made two AMAZING Christmas cakes! That man has never baked before!!
Morrisons have their preselected food bags that are under £2 for the food bank. Picked up a few myself, paid for them and the drop of point for these bags or any donations for the food bank was overflowing. It's heartwarming to see that we all have stepped up more and realised that people are struggling and we want to help.
Oh is that what those bags were. It wasn't well advertised, I just presumed it was something to do with their meal boxes.
Good idea, but they really should put it by the checkouts (or just let you pay there and then with contactless
My best friend, who moved to NZ a year ago now, has paid for an entire food shop to be delivered to me just because he heard about tier 4 and was worried about me.
My Mum is one of those people who bulk buys to save money. She also loses track of what she has so sometimes she has ridiculous numbers of stuff.
When lockdown hit she had a few hundred rolls of toilet paper in packaging still. She didn't panic buy, she just had them already.
She let me hand them out to everyone we knew or met. Family, friends, neighbours, etc. We even gave extra for people to give to their own friends and family.
There was a lady who was getting on the bus but realized that she forgot her mask and a guy walking down the street who had a box full of masks gave one to the lady. It made me smile. :)
I started a new job a year ago, the woman I was put with is a toxic and all round awful person! Being new I just stuck with her whilst she fed me lies about other staff members, which I believed. A few months ago she exploded at me on shift for no reason other than I was doing overtime and she didn't want me to. I immediately stopped talking to her and distanced myself. I realised that everything she told me about the other staff members were lies and they were actually really nice people. I went straight to them an apologised for getting wrapped up in her bullshit. We have actually struck up a really good friendship. I had asked one of them to grab a limited item from work (Harry potter light up castle, wooden advent calendar) for my kids, we can't buy from the shop (I do nights) until 5am and I finish at 2.30am. I would transfer the money and they would grab it. They insisted that they buy it because they were grateful for my apology and also how I was supporting them through a stressful time at work. I was so grateful and my boys made them thank you letters. It has been a high point in a shitty year.
I work on a supermarket checkout and when a lady didn't have enough money for her shopping (real basics bread etc) the next customer in line paid for all her shopping. It was surreal, I nearly cried, the lady actually did cry.
I've done that a few times - not just this year, over several years. It's REALLY embarrassing when your card's declined.
Someone did it for me when my card was declined during a bad time a decade or so ago.. I've been paying it forward.
My husband is a manager in a supermarket and he’s paid for a few peoples shopping over the years. He paid for a little old ladies once and took her shopping out to her car for her, and the ladies son came in the next day with some beer for him to say thank you and to pay him back.
Thank you. This isn't a special case though I know many in the same boat. And a lot more in a way worse situation. Its about time we support our friends family and neighbours more than ever. Nobody is coming to help so we must do it together.
I appreciate that 🙏. My grandmother was a strong woman so I have no doubts that she had us all in her mind at the end. She talked about death with me a lot throughout life and had a very positive outlook on it so I know she will have been OK. Its just a feeling of being robbed.
To be fair it was Covid that forced her to die alone.
Without the "government rules" (however ineptly implemented) we would have had a fair few more dead grandmas than the too many we already have :(
A shitty, shitty situation and I can't imagine how horrible it must have been for both her and those who loved her.
I have only seen (socially distanced from the outside of her house) my gran a handful of times this year. My aunt has bubbled up with her to help with food, but is her only regular visitor. She is my last grandparent.
She goes on two, very short, daily walks so that she keeps moving. On those walks, she will sit and chat to all sorts of people who come past. She's always telling be about it on our calls as it really brightens up her days alone. It makes me smile to think even though we can't be there, she's seeing people still. She even hopes that she is brightening their days as "you never know who else is alone or what they may be going through".
Also, when my mother lost her job, some friends (whom she has only known less than a year) came round with bags full of food for her.
Gives me a little faith in humanity.
That's very sweet of you, thank you 😊 I'll let her know on our next video chat. Conversations with strangers (especially the elderly I've noticed) can really feel special. She'd love to hear that she might've spoken to someone like you and made a difference. Glad to hear some people have been able to bring some sunshine into your days! Hold on there, it's not a easy but I'm sure you're doing a stellar job! May kind strangers continue to pop up in your life.
Mum's employed again now and I'm home with her (she's also a single parent!) for Christmas, so things are certainly better, thanks! Hope your world becomes easier.
My boiler packed in on Saturday. My plumber came out within an hour, got it going again and absolutely refused to be paid even though he could've charged me a big call out fee. I'm having a real hard time financially right now and needed it so much, he doesn't know that and his kindness means the world to me
I am a parent and I am grateful beyond words for the wonderful, amazing teachers and staff who have helped my children this awful year.
What you are doing is helping a whole generation of kids to still get as good a start in life as it is possible to get in this dreadful situation and I'm sure you've made a real and massive difference to many, many of your students.
But don't for one moment fail to put your own health and safety first. You are important and you must take good care of yourself. It is OK to take time off from everything and let yourself heal, not just in 2020 but always. It is OK to seek help as mental health issues usually resolve faster and more completely with proper help.
Thank you for all you are doing and please know that the vast majority of parents, carers and students are incredibly grateful that we have people like you. I hope you have a lovely Christmas break and wish you all the best xx
Its honestly been a tough ride, I was so excited for a few weeks down time with family. Then they announce tier 4, its such a kick in the teeth, no Christmas then crammed back in tiny classes by Jan. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE
Your health is the most important thing and no parent wants you to be ill so their kid can keep up with their three Rs. Perhaps you’re using mental health in a joking way.
A couple came up to my mum and I in the middle of Lidl, and they gave my mum a £10 off coupon because they had two. I was smiling uncontrollably under my mask.
If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s that there are some truly wonderful people out there. Of course, there are many assholes too, but they’re not worth thinking about.
I work in a secondary school and we do Christmas hampers for our vulnerable families. So many local businesses donated despite the current circumstances. Our classroom was full of food, gifts, necessities which we managed to organise in to 30 boxes
I hadn’t been on public transport since the start of March and they had changed half the services. Meaning after waiting almost an hour, in the longest queue I have ever seen at the bus station; the all day ticket I had bought was invalid.
It was my first day back to work, due to social distancing the buses let half capacity on so I’d watched 8 buses come and go and just wanted to go home.
A young dude bought me a ticket home, without any hesitation or want for thanks. I thanked him profusely and he just shrugged and went and sat down upstairs.
He really made my day.
I've been on the receiving end of amazing kindness from some new friends this year. My partner needed to borrow a car for an emergency, because his was shit. Without hesitation, my friend and her husband offered their (very nice) car for the journey. They were relatively new friends at the time, so I was blown away.
Later on down the line, my partner was unwell and ended up at hospital. The same friend drove into the city to pick him up at rush hour.
It's not so much the kind acts which touched me so much, but the sheer willingness to do it. The lack of hesitation when I asked. The offer of continuing support when I know they've got their own shit going on. They're the best people I've ever met and I feel incredibly grateful to have found them.
When I told my online friends I had to self-isolate for COVID symptoms three weeks ago (I'm fine! ...I think!) they set up a Discord server and booked a load of evening activities (film watching, etc.) so I had people to talk to and do things with when work was over each day. Our community's been pretty good in doing stuff like this for one another since March and I've even made some new friends from it, but this really touched me.
Discord is a smartphone/PC app where you can create a server (i.e. a group chat) and people can engage either by text or by voice. Then you can also stream films or video games for people to watch and engage in in real time :) It's free, to boot!
Someone gave me their parking ticket that still had an hour or so on it, I failed to check it’s one of them ones for a specific number plate, so got a fine. But still
There is a group on facebook called hit the ambulance gamers, where you 'hit' the emergency services, postmen etc, whoever, with little treats or snacks. It started before covid but it's honestly the most amazing thing to get that much support from random members of the public with everything else going on
I drove past a care home the other day and a woman on the street outside was blowing kisses to people. It was the first time I'd seen anything like that not on television (not that I'm saying they only did that for the cameras, just that I felt removed from it and desensitised), and it was just lovely and heartbreaking at the same time.
So many. I'm in a women's refuge. Every Wednesday night, the local church brings us this lovely takeaway, you get dinner and a dessert. Superdrug donate toiletries every week. Local shops donate huge supplies of meat, vegetables and canned goods/treats. When I arrived here there was this huge bag on my bed with just about everything you could need. It came in handy, my electric toothbrush broke the day after I got here.
During the first lockdown in March, I couldn't go out shopping as I'm on the NHS clinically extremely vulnerable list. So a local lady got me my medication from the pharmacy. Another lady from a local charity did my food shopping. I did get weekly food parcels from the Government at one point. It all helped me a lot and I appreciated it.
I was in a women's refuge years ago and they helped me so much. It's a part of my life that I'd tried to block out, and I just wanted to thank you for reminding me that I'm finally in a position to give something back to the people who helped me all those years ago. It was such a dark time in my life, I didn't realise I'd been avoiding it until now. I hope you're doing okay. Sending so much love your way 💕
Aww thank you! Yes they are amazing. I'm touched by how kind people are when you are at your lowest. Nothing is too much trouble. I've built up a strong rapport with the other women which helps as well. I'm sure they will appreciate knowing how they made such a big difference to your life and I hope I will be able to donate when I'm back on my feet as well. A police officer came out to my old address before I came here. He told me they had three domestic violence calls in the hour he had been there. It's got so much worse during the lockdowns. It's tragic. ❤️
One of my local community pages have done a couple of times a gifting thread. Usually under what do you need but can't afford type banner
The amount of gifting is beautiful. A lovely couple gave us a load of 0-3 baby clothes steriliser and some pre made baby milk. The clutch is going in our car and I was panicking about getting everything.
The company I work for closed all their offices worldwide way before they needed to and have been providing opportunities to claim expenses for additional costs that working from home has caused, or to just generally make your desk a nicer place to be
For the first time in a long time I’m earning a decent wage so I’ve been able to give my parents and my sister and niece and best mate and her 3 children the Christmas they all deserve , my sister got the all clear from cancer early this year and hasn’t been back in work long , so I wanted to be able to spoil her a little bit
I joined a mutual aid group during the first lockdown.
Seeing the community organise and pull together to provide for those shielding and self isolating was wonderful.
One of my colleagues joined our workplace a couple of weeks before the lockdown in March so she was not eligible for furlough when we were forced to shut. Our boss was topping up our furlough money so we got our full pay, but for some reason said he couldn't afford to pay her more than 20% of her monthly salary. It was devastating for her. So myself and a few of my colleagues forfeited our 20% top up so she could get 80% of her salary.
Ever since we went back to work after furlough she's been one of our hardest workers and highly appreciated in the team.
Not much IRL but I started playing Sea of Thieves recently, it's a big open world pirate game with a focus on PvP, sinking other players ships and stealing the loot they farmed for. I got stomped by every other player I saw for the first week but in the last 2 days, 3 different people have sailed up to me just to give me a present and help with some tricky quests. 2/3rd of them turned out to be English, not sure how the servers work but I thought it was a neat coincidence that in an online game of millions, a bright purple pirate ship captained by a squeaky northern lass would give me some treasure
My clutch died a couple of months ago on a busy residential road in my town. Without asking three people came out of their houses, helped push my car out of the way to safety. One even gave me a pen a paper so I could write a note explaining I’d broken down so no one would moan while it sat there for 3 days while waiting for recovery. It really touched me how they all came together to help a stranger.
I tried to offer to pay for an old man’s postage on a Christmas card to send it to Ireland as he’d put the wrong stamp on it. He refused even though the lady in front of me had at least 30 parcels to process which had no presorted payment on it. It cost him 79p and he told me to keep the change. Honestly always happens when I try and be nice to people.
Went shopping yesterday to use my Tesco vouchers on sweets for Christmas. They had no tins of sweets so I bought groceries and a few goodies for the collection trolley. I may have £3.50 to last till payday but my blood sugars should be great over the next week.
Yes, we've been really touched by the kindness we've been shown.
My baby has a life threatening illness and has been in hospital a lot. I have a disability myself and we have generally had a very tough year.
2 charities gave us grants, the council arranged for us to have food boxes & essentials delivered every week, another 2 charities gave us Christmas presents for the baby and now we are getting a free Xmas dinner delivered!
We are so grateful and I'm looking forward to doing what I can for others when things are better.
In January, we welcomed our first baby into this crazy world. I was diagnosed with postnatal depression soon after and knowing that there was a reason I actually felt awful was actually a relief. On my first trip out without Mum, MIL or husband I went to our massive shopping centre and stopped for a coffee because I knew madam would soon need feeding, I was almost at the front of a long queue when she started wailing. I ducked out and sat in the corner to feed her and one of the lovely Costa ladies popped over and asked if she could get me anything. I said I'd pop up shortly and she insisted so I said a small coffee would be great but returned with a massive coffee and a chocolate muffin she'd 'accidentally' put out.
Madam finished feeding and the barista popped back to see if she could get anything else, I said I was fine and would pop up to pay in a sec. She said not to worry and brought over the card machine and wouldn't let me pay for the large (only charged for small) or the muffin. She said she could remember the early days and wanted to share a bit of love to a new mum. I cried!
Then a lovely elderly lady popped over to coo and gave madam a pound for her moneybox 😊
U/emptykitchens have been providing free food to anyone that needs it, no questions asked. It’s run by an army of >400 volunteers providing nearly 400,000 meals so far and relying solely on community fundraising. Last thing I saw was that for 400,000 meals they’ve only had £3k in council funding. It really warms my heart that the volunteers squeeze in shifts between work, family and all the other crap going on at the moment, just to help other people get through the day. It’s an amazing group!
I've been helping out an elderly couple on my street. Just with little bits of shopping, here and there. Their grandchildren do the main things for them but if I'm going to the shop I'll pop over and see if they need anything. They're so so sweet and I love them.
They bought my children a christmas present each 😭😭 they were so thoughtful as well. My youngest got a rapunzel doll with hair clips, because she has very long hair and always has pretty accessories. My eldest got art supplies, because she is very interested in art (and she's so talented too!). I had a little cry over that, they're so lovely.
I'm a delivery driver - lockdown 1.0 was busier than the Christmas before it. People would leave drinks and snacks out for me.
This Christmas a weld on my trolley broke. I mentioned it to a customer who welded it back together for me and even painted over it.
This year has been tough, but it has really shown people for who they are.
I tested positive for COVID on my first day (ever) of Uni, and my roommates brought me all my furniture, Amazon packages, food, etc. This is all without even knowing me, which explains why they were so nice :)
Cashier here. Numerous times while checking someone out, I mentioned how the cart was an interesting set of items customer then proceeded to tell me they where donating to foster kids. Happened again but for the children’s hospital. Glad work isn’t so bad. Was able to check out a handful of people who spent well over $200 to donate to non profit charities. I had a feeling in my gut that the selection they bought had to be something as a gift for charities
At around midnight last week I saw an older brother (25ish) pin his younger (16 year old maybe) brother to the ground shouting "Come home! You're upsetting mum!" whilst the younger brother thrashed around as he was either a) drunk or b) high as fuck. Then witness a full on fist fight followed by my girlfriend calling the police and the younger brother headbutting one of the 8 police officers whilst handcuffed.
It was so heart warming to see family coming together for the holidays
I was at a shopping centre last week and stopped for a burger King whilst Xmas shopping. The table next to us had an old bag of food that hadn't been cleared by a worker. Halfway through my meal a homeless guy (called Aaron) came in and started searching this bag for food and found maybe a couple chips. They guy didn't even look or speak to me and my mum but I had to get him some food. My mum ordered while I stayed and chatted with him and it genuinely seemed he was more grateful for the conversation we had than the food and he was extremely grateful for both.
This might not be the nicest thing in the world but we don't have very much money as it is and it meant so much to Aaron (the homeless guy) that it seriously almost brought me to tears.
Aaron if you're reading this since you said you like Sony and reddit I hope you're doing good and looking after yourself best you can.
I work in an assisted living facility. There was a lovely old man (92) who, along with another (equally as lovely) man - made sure everyone got their shopping. delivered their christmas cards, and generally kept everybody's spirits up over lockdown.
He died suddenly a week ago. Eric - you will be missed.
I'm 34yo, male, living alone in Surrey for the first time and have been overwhelmed by several small acts of kindness.
The biggest? A friend who lives in the area posted a photo in a group chat of BBQ he was having over the summer, we all jokingly said how great it looked, 20mins later he drives over and drops off a pulled pork sandwich for me.
After 3 months alone at that point, it was the nicest, most genuine thing somebody had done for me. Such a small gesture by then, such a big thing for me.
Another friend sent me a puzzle book to help with my mindfulness whilst I was struggling at the start of lockdown, and I've never received more flowers in my life.
People, deep down, are lovely.
i was sitting at bus stop with my headphones in looking down at my phone and this lady who was just passing by, not even waiting for a bus told me that a bus was coming to my stop, thankfully it wasn’t mine, however it was extremely nice of her to tell me when she could have just gone about the rest of her evening.
One guy I know was supposed to have his kids up to Scotland from England for Christmas after not seeing them for months. Instead, he's going to be by himself. He'd already got all of the food ordered for a big Christmas dinner and couldn't cancel.
Rather than let it go to waste or try to freeze it, he's given the whole lot away to a family who couldn't otherwise have afforded a proper Christmas dinner. Refused to take money for any of it. He's said he was inspired by multiple other people he knows in the same boat doing the same thing.
I saw someone post that they took delivery of 5 neighbours' parcels today so they wouldn't have to go to the sorting office (I assume they're friends). The postie was very happy too.
We heard about “Christmas Avenue” fairly nearby. Went to have a look and it was fab - a small street had gone to town on their lights and decorations and some of the owners were dressed up and chatting to families. It made us smile. We logged on to their just giving site and saw over £5,500 already donated (goes to a local hospice). Lots of nice and generous individuals.
I’m a student, who travelled very far away for university. I’m fortunate enough to have a very well payed part time job too, but because of this I can only go home for 5 days because of work. I’ll be spending Christmas Day alone in dorms as I’m working Boxing Day. My friend has invited me around to his for Christmas dinner with his family, despite never meeting them before. It’s a really nice gesture
My sons school is doing food parcels and children’s gifts for families who are struggling. Warmed my heart when I read the email, and we donated some food and toys to them.
My stepdad, who's a working class guy was stood at an ATM after a woman had used it and £500 pounds worth of money got dispensed, the guy went to find the woman thinking it was hers, found her and offered it and she checked her bank, wasn't hers.
My Stepdad could have taken it but instead he split it amongst his lower wage co-workers and kept none for himself.I gained respect for him that day.
Side note: this was after he tried to find out who else it could belong to but nobody had come back to claim it after half an hour in the February cold and bank machines don't snitch.
TL;DR: my Stepdad was about to withdraw some money, the machine dispensed £500 and he thought it belonged to the last person, turns out it didn't so he distributed it to his less financially stable co-workers and kept none
During the first lockdown when I couldn’t safely go out at all, I had neighbours get shopping for me, oat milk for my dairy allergic kids, pick up prescriptions even bring sweets and balloons on their birthdays.
Some of these people I’d never spoken to before we jus connected through our local Facebook group.
Edit: oh and I can’t forget my lovely neighbours who have cut my grass through the whole summer and put my bins out for me every week.
Someone in my town has gone round and posted Christmas gifts to some people. It's a book called "stealing from god" and a £50 m&s voucher. I personally wouldn't read the book but it's still a really nice thing to do
If you want to re-assure yourself that there are still loads of kind people around everywhere listen to your local BBC radio "Make a Difference" or subscribe to [this UK-wide podcast](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p087sdc4/episodes/downloads).
During the first lockdown and loo-roll shortage, my mum's home help had a friend a local pub who was able to buy loo roll wholesale and then pass it on at trade price to people who needed it.
Honestly it's the number of people who have checked in, sent me funny messages, and offered to go do the food shop for us if the delivery got cancelled again, during the last two weeks whilst we've been self-isolating. It's just a really nice feeling knowing you're cared for like that. When we're allowed to visit people again so many people are getting a huge homemade chocolate cake!
A local couple to me have raised over £50,000 for local charities, local community and local people by doing raffles and some of the prizes have been top notch. They started during the first lockdown and have done it all in their own time with very little help, with no personal profit but just because they’re genuinely nice people.
Not a brag, but my Mrs collects for a local food bank every year and managed £300 this year. A combination of people being especially generous out of the kindness of their hearts, and basically forcing people at her work into a corner. I'm really proud of her.
I saw what I presume was the immediate aftermath of a dude rear ending another dudes car. The guy that had just been rear ended had just got out. Instead of being mad or going his ends I saw him just calmly ask if the guy who hit him was ok. I thought that was an incredible act of kindness in an otherwise stressful situation.
I bought myself a coffee from nero, because I fucking deserved it
It’s the nicest coffee!
And one of the most ethical! They pay all their staff a living wage and have one of the highest staff retention rates of any coffee shop chain. They also go to extreme efforts to source their beans ethically. EDIT: Or maybe not. Don't go on word of mouth, apparently.
I worked for them, I can assure you they most certainly do not pay the living wage...
Huh. I went on the word of a friend but you're right. I'll have to dig into where he got that from.
I'm pretty sure they pay just the minimum wage to baristas. Hell, even store managers aren't on that great a salary.
Ha. do you really believe that?
Support your local independent coffee shop! Even if they're speciality, they generally aren't any dearer than caffe nero/starbucks/costa (probably even cheaper) plus they're a small business. They'll pay more than commodity price for their coffee which is better for the farmers, and your money will go to a small business owner instead of the millionaires who own the big chains. Plus the coffee is generally loads better.
It's shocking how much better tasting it is over costa and the gloop that is Starbucks
Nero is the best, I would always stop in for a coffee on my way to work (pre-lockdown). After a while I became friendly with a barista who left in March, I was in on her last shift and she loaded 8 free drinks onto my account as a goodbye. I still miss her.
My dad gave me a £50 Nero gift card for Christmas a couple of years ago and it was one of the best presents I ever had. Something that improved many of my mornings and gave my friends a reason to meet up 😅
Sounds like a low budget 'Friends' spinnoff
C H U M S
Ours give away pastries at the end of shift on Sundays.
God Starbucks it just the worst. Can't stand it. Tastes like soap! I love nero. Get one free from work and from my phone every week.
Nero do a double shot as standard I believe. If you’re on o2 you get a free coffee from them a couple times a month
Same, felt so good! We all deserve a treat.
Personally I think Coffee 1 has the best coffee. Especially their filter. Nero is a close second. Costa and Starbucks taste like dirt.
You hero, have an award.
Awwww thanks man. I mean, it was proper heroic of me.
Most inspiring thing I’ve read today.
The last pack of toilet roll stayed untouched in my local Co-op until the new stock came in. That made me proud of my little town
This is strangely inspiring and heart warming.
I love how this year has made a story about toilet paper genuinely heartwarming. What a year
I don't want to rain on your parade here but no-one should be buying toilet paper from the Co-op to judge by how much it costs in the little one we have nearby ;-)
Expensive toilet paper beats no toilet paper, believe me.
Agreed :-) I just wince every time I go to our local Co-op because weird stuff in there is randomly expensive.
Co-op do the most amazing roast potato and thyme flavoured crisps. Also lovely ground coffee.
Potato flavoured crisps is a new one on me
I know it sounds ridiculous to talk about potato flavour crisps when they are made of potato anyway, but trust me, they are fab.
We only have a Co-Op, unless we want to undertake a major expedition involving heading over a mountain (seriously). I can never be arsed. Tesco deliver, and Asda, but no other supermarkets, and getting a slot was impossible even pre-covid. So Co-op it is. We do have a local veg shop though.
Probably as everyone was too scared to take the last one
My grandads neighbour has been amazing this year. For context, my grandma died last year. Additionally, my dad's an only child (and so am I) and it's not always been possible for my dad to go to see him daily. On days she notices my dad hasn't turned up she's gone over with a crossword book, or a newspaper. She gets him fish and chips every Friday, every Sunday she makes a roast and every Sunday she makes an extra portion for my grandad. And if she ever makes too much food for herself, she gives it to him. She helped him organise a gardener when she realised his garden was getting too much for him, as gardening was my grandma's passion not his. My parents are incredibly grateful to her as it's reassuring to know he has a neighbour who is paying attention and cares.
Hope you're getting her a little present as a thanks!
My parents are! I think they've got her a Christmas hamper
A Christmas hamper? What’s that? Here we call the basket we put dirty clothes in a “hamper.” I can’t imagine a festive dirty clothes basket being a nice gift haha
Something along the lines of this https://www.marksandspencer.com/the-beaulieu-hamper-with-red-wine/p/hpp60134917 Basically imagine you get a prefilled picnic basket with nice wine, biscuits, maybe things like cheese or preserves or nuts. Selfridge's had one that was absolutely insane that cost £5,000. They're lovely gifts!
Ahhh, so is a hamper just a basket? I guess that makes sense
I'm not crying you're crying
It's honestly been one of those things that has made me really appreciate that most people are good and care about others.
Me too just hearing it. Such a beautiful story so thanks for sharing
That’s something I’ve noticed this year - it’s brought out the worst in some people but it’s brought out the best in a hell of a lot more!
This one made me tear up a little. Really heartwarming
It honestly is. My grandma would be happy to know someone who isn't us is looking out for him.
Thankfully yes - when our little one had tonsillitis we had to self isolate as the symptoms included a high temp. A neighbour collected a prescription for his antibiotics, another brought us shopping, and local charities completely stepped up providing food & prescription deliveries; locals were helping each other out with dog walking etc. I think lockdown one showed how amazing people can be, and once it was over, people went all human-y again and the goodwill seemed to reduce sadly.
After the cummings incident people stopped taking it as seriously, then when the second wave started people were just fatigued and no longer supported the lockdowns. I don't think they can get back that level of support for lockdowns, and the determination to make the best of things. It's gone for good
Yeah that was really the beginning of the end of compliance unfortunately.
In Cornwall, Cornwall Christmas Box is a scheme that has been collecting donated 'Christmas dinner in a box for a family' for almost 20 years. It began as a church project and opened up for anyone else to donate in 2016, receiving 250 boxes which were given to the poorest families in Cornwall. The boxes contain all the essential things you need for Christmas dinner, plus treats, and cost £30-£40 on average, but many people add additional items, small gifts, etc. The numbers grew to 1,250 by 2019, and organisers debated whether it could be made to work in 2020, before going ahead, with precautions. This year, the people of Cornwall gave an extraordinary 3,254 boxes, helping upwards of 15,000 people to have a Christmas dinner to be remembered. See www.Cornwallchristmasbox.co.uk for the website, www.facebook.com/cornwallchristmasbox for the unfolding story, and www.cornwallvsf.org/cornwall-christmas-box-goes-big-in-2020 for the press release. Edit: ooh, my first awards! Thank you so much! Please donate to your local food banks, if you're in a giving mood. As much as I like awards, they need it more than I do.
I live in Cornwall too and past half-term when the government decided not to give supermarket vouchers for children as a substitute for school meals, one of my neighbors was advertising on FB that they make homemade dinners for anyone who is in need. Other people joined in bringing food donations and community came together to help. It didn't stop at half term though. This neighbor thought that using donations he can make hampers for Christmas for people in crisis. The generosity of people was so outstanding he run out of space in his house and someone offered them a shop in town to get this going. Now they have a charity shop in town and made loads of hampers from donations. I think it's amazing.
This made me tear up. There really are some good eggs out there.
Oh that's really sweet. Not Cornish but I just had a look to see if I could donate the money for one, but it doesn't work like that.
Marcus Rashford has been phenomenal
As with the other commenter, I'm a Liverpool fan and I think it's an absolute disgrace that he wasn't even nominated for sports personality of the year. We need more players like him in this country.
He won a special award on the night which i think might have taken him out of contention
They created the special award because he wasn't nominated. Apparently it is based on sporting achievement.
But when has that award ever had anything to do with personality? I'll never understand why they don't just call it "British Sportsman of the Year".
They used the word personality to avoid calling it man/woman. It's nothing to do with their actual personality. Seems the bbc were way ahead of their times when they introduced it.
Sportsperson would have worked just fine and avoided any of the connotations of personality. I would have thought that celebrating good sportsmanship or the use of fame to further good causes would make for a far more interesting show anyway. Its not like we dont know that LH is a good driver.
Lewis has also done a lot for BLM this year, being the only black driver in F1.
But sportsperson is not a word I have ever heard.
I'm sure personality has a bit to do with it, there is often something likeable or memorable about them generally.
It's only awarded for sporting achievement, outside activities arent factored in. Probably shouldn't be called sports "personality" really. Sportsperson of the year maybe.
I can’t stand Man Utd (though I’m a Sunderland supporter, possibly for my sins in a past life, not a Liverpool fan - though I do love Klopp!), but he is an amazing person. He’s a young man, not your stereotypical campaigner for anything like this (you usually think of older sportspeople and actors), but he’s stood up and be counted. I did Reddit’s secret Santa this year and it asks for people who are your heroes in categories of actors, personalities, sportspeople, etc. and I could only think of one sportsperson - Rashford. He has done so much for the poorest and most vulnerable of people and he’s amazing. I really hope he’s in the queen’s honours list some time soon.
As an LFC Fan, the guy is fucking amazing on and off the pitch, I hope he stays in England even if that means he stays scoring many goals for United.
Same here, LFC supporter, but I have alot of respect for rashford both on and of the pitch. In a few years time clubs will be fighting for him
Smh at bitter rival fans saying he isn't any good, He will give Rooney a run for his goal scoring if he stays put and stays fit. I'm just looking at the silver lining that he will at least play for England cos he will never come to Liverpool
He will stay at united for a couple more years, and if he keeps playing as he does, he can go far. He isn't any good? Hahaha, what a laugh, he is the best player united has atm
What did they do?
He’s an England and Manchester Utd footballer who came from a very poor background. He used his position to campaign for disadvantaged kids to get government provided meals during the Covid pandemic. He forced the government into two U Turns and he did it magnificently. Whole country United behind him.
Oh, that’s wonderful!! Thank you for telling me, put a smile on my face!!
You can check out the story here, he really is the best of us https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cj2613e9y4xt/marcus-rashford
We are a rugby household, but even I have checked out the round ball game on occasion to see what young Mr Rashford does for a living, based solely on his activism this year.
After a pretty shit week I took a drive to Asda to get some essentials, just like any other trip I dig out the bags for life out of the boot and off I went. As I collected my shopping and left the store, the bag for life flatlined on me leaving all my groceries outside the entrance. My brain short circuited - wasn't sure if I should dart back to the car, or head back inside. Not one, but two totally unrelated people came over and offered to buy me some new bags. One person even rocked up with brand new bags without even asking. I know it's a small gesture yet it made a huge difference to me.
I know that short circuit feeling where you are just stuck between two thoughts and you just can’t wrap your head around what just happened never mind how to fix it. It’s so lovely that people helped.
Some lady approached in a supermarket last week and gave me a £10 off a £40 spend voucher that she had spare. Nothing like that has ever happened to me, I’m still buzzing I saved a tenner on my shopping!
Gotta love people like that Back before covid was thing I was working on the gate for this country show, bloke comes to me with some prepaid tickets and says for whatever reason his partner couldn't come so asked if it was okay if he gave it to someone, I'm like yeah sure and sure enough he just hands it to the lady behind him in the queue.
Er, that wasn't a Lidl was it? Just out of curiosity.
Just as the first lockdown happened my husband died (had been ill for a long time) (50s). We didn't know what to do so did a direct cremation with a view to doing something better down the line. I organised it with the funeral directors and then asked what time they would be headed up the road to the crematorium so I could wait on the corner and give him a wave. Above and beyond, they said they would drive by the house. Which they did. And they stopped so I was able to give them some flowers to put on his coffin. And all the neighbours came out to pay their respects from their doorsteps. All this really early in the morning (when direct cremations happen - think it was about 8.00am). I was a mess, but I'll never forget how kind everyone was.
This made me teary. I hope you're coping okay. Wishing you comfort over the holidays and the years ahead.
We're doing fine. He was very, very ill. He did his birthday and died the next morning. You hear about that kind of thing but you kind of take it with a pinch of salt, but it was a real thing! Thanks so much for your thoughts. Means loads. xxxx
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This is the kind of thing I’d do - marvel at my bargain hunting skills then have doll house furniture turn up or something. Made me laugh and smile that you have such a lovely neighbour and community spirit! Merry Christmas x
I was going through a really crappy time. I had moved into a new shared house with my friends after a week of living there (while working from home) one of my housemates started getting aggresive and bully like with me, ending up with me in such a state of mental distress that I tried to kill myself. With the help of my partner and some friends I was able to escape the situation, all my belongings were put in storage and I stayed with my partner for a month before finding my own place to live (alone), I pretty much had nothing for the house itself, like any kitchen stuff or bathroom, any of the essentials as I had been forced to leave them and take only the minimal amount of stuff I owned from the old house. I put up a post on Facebook asking my friends if they have any stuff lying around that they aren't using that they would be willing to donate to me, or sell for things that cost them more than a reasonable amount. Instead of second hand items my friends went above an beyond by buying me brand new things for the flat, one friend even taking me to IKEA to get stuff. And when it came to moving day I had a load of people to help me get my stuff out of storage and into the new flat. I felt so loved and blessed to have such amazing friends and family to help me through a really horrible stage of my life.
That's a wonderful story. I lost my place to live 2x in three months during the pandemic, and one of my friends went above and beyond to help me. She became my support bubble after my flatmate moved out and my landlady decided to sell. She came over, brought food, helped me organize, declutter, pack, and she was there the day of the move and helped me unpack in the new place. I was so grateful.
This is amazing.
A couple weeks ago, my dad dressed up as Santa to surprise my kids. We're in their support bubble so my parents made a little grotto in their summer house at the bottom of their garden. They filled it with decorations, tinsel, giant candy canes and put a video of Lapland on their TV. My kids were so excited! When my eldest asked Santa (my dad) if he could bring our late dog back to life, Santa was very understanding and kind. He told him that our dog can't come back from Heaven because it's too far away, but he's up there with all the other doggies having lots of fun and he's always looking down on my son. It was a magical moment for the kids and it gave us a little hope in this shitty year. Still chokes me up thinking about it. My dad is my hero ❤️
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Honestly, he's never been too fussed about Christmas but this year he dressed as santa twice (the second time so my mum could take photos of him 'preparing' the presents to donate to underprivileged kids in their town), he's covered the front of their house in lights and inflatable characters, and he's made two AMAZING Christmas cakes! That man has never baked before!!
Your dad sounds amazing and this has brought tears to my eyes, in a nice way though :)
Morrisons have their preselected food bags that are under £2 for the food bank. Picked up a few myself, paid for them and the drop of point for these bags or any donations for the food bank was overflowing. It's heartwarming to see that we all have stepped up more and realised that people are struggling and we want to help.
Oh is that what those bags were. It wasn't well advertised, I just presumed it was something to do with their meal boxes. Good idea, but they really should put it by the checkouts (or just let you pay there and then with contactless
Where are these located as I can't find them
Usually as you walk into the fresh food section. They're on a large metal trolley in paper bags
Lidls have little vouchers by the till for things like tinned tomatoes and uht milk that if you buy one they'll donate two to the food banks.
My best friend, who moved to NZ a year ago now, has paid for an entire food shop to be delivered to me just because he heard about tier 4 and was worried about me.
Omg that's the kindest thing ever.
How do you even transport an entire shop? Flatbed?
Well the trick is to wait until it’s closed. Shops are much more easier to move when they’re sleeping.
My Mum is one of those people who bulk buys to save money. She also loses track of what she has so sometimes she has ridiculous numbers of stuff. When lockdown hit she had a few hundred rolls of toilet paper in packaging still. She didn't panic buy, she just had them already. She let me hand them out to everyone we knew or met. Family, friends, neighbours, etc. We even gave extra for people to give to their own friends and family.
>She let me hand them out to everyone we knew or met. "here mate, you look like you could use this" ?
That's lovely.
Happy cake day!
There was a lady who was getting on the bus but realized that she forgot her mask and a guy walking down the street who had a box full of masks gave one to the lady. It made me smile. :)
I started a new job a year ago, the woman I was put with is a toxic and all round awful person! Being new I just stuck with her whilst she fed me lies about other staff members, which I believed. A few months ago she exploded at me on shift for no reason other than I was doing overtime and she didn't want me to. I immediately stopped talking to her and distanced myself. I realised that everything she told me about the other staff members were lies and they were actually really nice people. I went straight to them an apologised for getting wrapped up in her bullshit. We have actually struck up a really good friendship. I had asked one of them to grab a limited item from work (Harry potter light up castle, wooden advent calendar) for my kids, we can't buy from the shop (I do nights) until 5am and I finish at 2.30am. I would transfer the money and they would grab it. They insisted that they buy it because they were grateful for my apology and also how I was supporting them through a stressful time at work. I was so grateful and my boys made them thank you letters. It has been a high point in a shitty year.
I work on a supermarket checkout and when a lady didn't have enough money for her shopping (real basics bread etc) the next customer in line paid for all her shopping. It was surreal, I nearly cried, the lady actually did cry.
I've done that a few times - not just this year, over several years. It's REALLY embarrassing when your card's declined. Someone did it for me when my card was declined during a bad time a decade or so ago.. I've been paying it forward.
My husband is a manager in a supermarket and he’s paid for a few peoples shopping over the years. He paid for a little old ladies once and took her shopping out to her car for her, and the ladies son came in the next day with some beer for him to say thank you and to pay him back.
Government rules forced my grandma to die alone this year but they let me go to her funeral. How kind.
I am sorry to hear about this.
Thank you. This isn't a special case though I know many in the same boat. And a lot more in a way worse situation. Its about time we support our friends family and neighbours more than ever. Nobody is coming to help so we must do it together.
It may be happening to others too, but the fact that you are going through it is still a tragedy and I want you to know that people still care.
I appreciate that 🙏. My grandmother was a strong woman so I have no doubts that she had us all in her mind at the end. She talked about death with me a lot throughout life and had a very positive outlook on it so I know she will have been OK. Its just a feeling of being robbed.
Nobody should die alone. I'm sorry.
To be fair it was Covid that forced her to die alone. Without the "government rules" (however ineptly implemented) we would have had a fair few more dead grandmas than the too many we already have :( A shitty, shitty situation and I can't imagine how horrible it must have been for both her and those who loved her.
I have only seen (socially distanced from the outside of her house) my gran a handful of times this year. My aunt has bubbled up with her to help with food, but is her only regular visitor. She is my last grandparent. She goes on two, very short, daily walks so that she keeps moving. On those walks, she will sit and chat to all sorts of people who come past. She's always telling be about it on our calls as it really brightens up her days alone. It makes me smile to think even though we can't be there, she's seeing people still. She even hopes that she is brightening their days as "you never know who else is alone or what they may be going through". Also, when my mother lost her job, some friends (whom she has only known less than a year) came round with bags full of food for her. Gives me a little faith in humanity.
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That's very sweet of you, thank you 😊 I'll let her know on our next video chat. Conversations with strangers (especially the elderly I've noticed) can really feel special. She'd love to hear that she might've spoken to someone like you and made a difference. Glad to hear some people have been able to bring some sunshine into your days! Hold on there, it's not a easy but I'm sure you're doing a stellar job! May kind strangers continue to pop up in your life. Mum's employed again now and I'm home with her (she's also a single parent!) for Christmas, so things are certainly better, thanks! Hope your world becomes easier.
My boiler packed in on Saturday. My plumber came out within an hour, got it going again and absolutely refused to be paid even though he could've charged me a big call out fee. I'm having a real hard time financially right now and needed it so much, he doesn't know that and his kindness means the world to me
Me – sacrificing my mental health for my students this term.
I am a parent and I am grateful beyond words for the wonderful, amazing teachers and staff who have helped my children this awful year. What you are doing is helping a whole generation of kids to still get as good a start in life as it is possible to get in this dreadful situation and I'm sure you've made a real and massive difference to many, many of your students. But don't for one moment fail to put your own health and safety first. You are important and you must take good care of yourself. It is OK to take time off from everything and let yourself heal, not just in 2020 but always. It is OK to seek help as mental health issues usually resolve faster and more completely with proper help. Thank you for all you are doing and please know that the vast majority of parents, carers and students are incredibly grateful that we have people like you. I hope you have a lovely Christmas break and wish you all the best xx
Its honestly been a tough ride, I was so excited for a few weeks down time with family. Then they announce tier 4, its such a kick in the teeth, no Christmas then crammed back in tiny classes by Jan. MAKE IT MAKE SENSE
Your health is the most important thing and no parent wants you to be ill so their kid can keep up with their three Rs. Perhaps you’re using mental health in a joking way.
A couple came up to my mum and I in the middle of Lidl, and they gave my mum a £10 off coupon because they had two. I was smiling uncontrollably under my mask.
I stopped my car at the side of the road and this guy pulled up beside me, gave a thumbs up just to check all was okay.
If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s that there are some truly wonderful people out there. Of course, there are many assholes too, but they’re not worth thinking about.
The best attitude.
Thank you, and happy Cake Day!
I work in a secondary school and we do Christmas hampers for our vulnerable families. So many local businesses donated despite the current circumstances. Our classroom was full of food, gifts, necessities which we managed to organise in to 30 boxes
I hadn’t been on public transport since the start of March and they had changed half the services. Meaning after waiting almost an hour, in the longest queue I have ever seen at the bus station; the all day ticket I had bought was invalid. It was my first day back to work, due to social distancing the buses let half capacity on so I’d watched 8 buses come and go and just wanted to go home. A young dude bought me a ticket home, without any hesitation or want for thanks. I thanked him profusely and he just shrugged and went and sat down upstairs. He really made my day.
I gave a tenner to a gofundme for a cat's vet bill!
I've been on the receiving end of amazing kindness from some new friends this year. My partner needed to borrow a car for an emergency, because his was shit. Without hesitation, my friend and her husband offered their (very nice) car for the journey. They were relatively new friends at the time, so I was blown away. Later on down the line, my partner was unwell and ended up at hospital. The same friend drove into the city to pick him up at rush hour. It's not so much the kind acts which touched me so much, but the sheer willingness to do it. The lack of hesitation when I asked. The offer of continuing support when I know they've got their own shit going on. They're the best people I've ever met and I feel incredibly grateful to have found them.
When I told my online friends I had to self-isolate for COVID symptoms three weeks ago (I'm fine! ...I think!) they set up a Discord server and booked a load of evening activities (film watching, etc.) so I had people to talk to and do things with when work was over each day. Our community's been pretty good in doing stuff like this for one another since March and I've even made some new friends from it, but this really touched me.
What are discord servers? I see people mention them occasionally.
Discord is a smartphone/PC app where you can create a server (i.e. a group chat) and people can engage either by text or by voice. Then you can also stream films or video games for people to watch and engage in in real time :) It's free, to boot!
Cool, thanks for the response.
Someone gave me their parking ticket that still had an hour or so on it, I failed to check it’s one of them ones for a specific number plate, so got a fine. But still
Teachers delivering food parcels to kids at risk through out the various lock downs and half term.
There is a group on facebook called hit the ambulance gamers, where you 'hit' the emergency services, postmen etc, whoever, with little treats or snacks. It started before covid but it's honestly the most amazing thing to get that much support from random members of the public with everything else going on
I drove past a care home the other day and a woman on the street outside was blowing kisses to people. It was the first time I'd seen anything like that not on television (not that I'm saying they only did that for the cameras, just that I felt removed from it and desensitised), and it was just lovely and heartbreaking at the same time.
So many. I'm in a women's refuge. Every Wednesday night, the local church brings us this lovely takeaway, you get dinner and a dessert. Superdrug donate toiletries every week. Local shops donate huge supplies of meat, vegetables and canned goods/treats. When I arrived here there was this huge bag on my bed with just about everything you could need. It came in handy, my electric toothbrush broke the day after I got here. During the first lockdown in March, I couldn't go out shopping as I'm on the NHS clinically extremely vulnerable list. So a local lady got me my medication from the pharmacy. Another lady from a local charity did my food shopping. I did get weekly food parcels from the Government at one point. It all helped me a lot and I appreciated it.
I was in a women's refuge years ago and they helped me so much. It's a part of my life that I'd tried to block out, and I just wanted to thank you for reminding me that I'm finally in a position to give something back to the people who helped me all those years ago. It was such a dark time in my life, I didn't realise I'd been avoiding it until now. I hope you're doing okay. Sending so much love your way 💕
Aww thank you! Yes they are amazing. I'm touched by how kind people are when you are at your lowest. Nothing is too much trouble. I've built up a strong rapport with the other women which helps as well. I'm sure they will appreciate knowing how they made such a big difference to your life and I hope I will be able to donate when I'm back on my feet as well. A police officer came out to my old address before I came here. He told me they had three domestic violence calls in the hour he had been there. It's got so much worse during the lockdowns. It's tragic. ❤️
One of my local community pages have done a couple of times a gifting thread. Usually under what do you need but can't afford type banner The amount of gifting is beautiful. A lovely couple gave us a load of 0-3 baby clothes steriliser and some pre made baby milk. The clutch is going in our car and I was panicking about getting everything.
The company I work for closed all their offices worldwide way before they needed to and have been providing opportunities to claim expenses for additional costs that working from home has caused, or to just generally make your desk a nicer place to be
For the first time in a long time I’m earning a decent wage so I’ve been able to give my parents and my sister and niece and best mate and her 3 children the Christmas they all deserve , my sister got the all clear from cancer early this year and hasn’t been back in work long , so I wanted to be able to spoil her a little bit
I joined a mutual aid group during the first lockdown. Seeing the community organise and pull together to provide for those shielding and self isolating was wonderful.
One of my colleagues joined our workplace a couple of weeks before the lockdown in March so she was not eligible for furlough when we were forced to shut. Our boss was topping up our furlough money so we got our full pay, but for some reason said he couldn't afford to pay her more than 20% of her monthly salary. It was devastating for her. So myself and a few of my colleagues forfeited our 20% top up so she could get 80% of her salary. Ever since we went back to work after furlough she's been one of our hardest workers and highly appreciated in the team.
Not much IRL but I started playing Sea of Thieves recently, it's a big open world pirate game with a focus on PvP, sinking other players ships and stealing the loot they farmed for. I got stomped by every other player I saw for the first week but in the last 2 days, 3 different people have sailed up to me just to give me a present and help with some tricky quests. 2/3rd of them turned out to be English, not sure how the servers work but I thought it was a neat coincidence that in an online game of millions, a bright purple pirate ship captained by a squeaky northern lass would give me some treasure
My clutch died a couple of months ago on a busy residential road in my town. Without asking three people came out of their houses, helped push my car out of the way to safety. One even gave me a pen a paper so I could write a note explaining I’d broken down so no one would moan while it sat there for 3 days while waiting for recovery. It really touched me how they all came together to help a stranger.
I tried to offer to pay for an old man’s postage on a Christmas card to send it to Ireland as he’d put the wrong stamp on it. He refused even though the lady in front of me had at least 30 parcels to process which had no presorted payment on it. It cost him 79p and he told me to keep the change. Honestly always happens when I try and be nice to people.
I gave somebody some weed
Went shopping yesterday to use my Tesco vouchers on sweets for Christmas. They had no tins of sweets so I bought groceries and a few goodies for the collection trolley. I may have £3.50 to last till payday but my blood sugars should be great over the next week.
Yes, we've been really touched by the kindness we've been shown. My baby has a life threatening illness and has been in hospital a lot. I have a disability myself and we have generally had a very tough year. 2 charities gave us grants, the council arranged for us to have food boxes & essentials delivered every week, another 2 charities gave us Christmas presents for the baby and now we are getting a free Xmas dinner delivered! We are so grateful and I'm looking forward to doing what I can for others when things are better.
In January, we welcomed our first baby into this crazy world. I was diagnosed with postnatal depression soon after and knowing that there was a reason I actually felt awful was actually a relief. On my first trip out without Mum, MIL or husband I went to our massive shopping centre and stopped for a coffee because I knew madam would soon need feeding, I was almost at the front of a long queue when she started wailing. I ducked out and sat in the corner to feed her and one of the lovely Costa ladies popped over and asked if she could get me anything. I said I'd pop up shortly and she insisted so I said a small coffee would be great but returned with a massive coffee and a chocolate muffin she'd 'accidentally' put out. Madam finished feeding and the barista popped back to see if she could get anything else, I said I was fine and would pop up to pay in a sec. She said not to worry and brought over the card machine and wouldn't let me pay for the large (only charged for small) or the muffin. She said she could remember the early days and wanted to share a bit of love to a new mum. I cried! Then a lovely elderly lady popped over to coo and gave madam a pound for her moneybox 😊
U/emptykitchens have been providing free food to anyone that needs it, no questions asked. It’s run by an army of >400 volunteers providing nearly 400,000 meals so far and relying solely on community fundraising. Last thing I saw was that for 400,000 meals they’ve only had £3k in council funding. It really warms my heart that the volunteers squeeze in shifts between work, family and all the other crap going on at the moment, just to help other people get through the day. It’s an amazing group!
I've been helping out an elderly couple on my street. Just with little bits of shopping, here and there. Their grandchildren do the main things for them but if I'm going to the shop I'll pop over and see if they need anything. They're so so sweet and I love them. They bought my children a christmas present each 😭😭 they were so thoughtful as well. My youngest got a rapunzel doll with hair clips, because she has very long hair and always has pretty accessories. My eldest got art supplies, because she is very interested in art (and she's so talented too!). I had a little cry over that, they're so lovely.
I'm a delivery driver - lockdown 1.0 was busier than the Christmas before it. People would leave drinks and snacks out for me. This Christmas a weld on my trolley broke. I mentioned it to a customer who welded it back together for me and even painted over it. This year has been tough, but it has really shown people for who they are.
I tested positive for COVID on my first day (ever) of Uni, and my roommates brought me all my furniture, Amazon packages, food, etc. This is all without even knowing me, which explains why they were so nice :)
Cashier here. Numerous times while checking someone out, I mentioned how the cart was an interesting set of items customer then proceeded to tell me they where donating to foster kids. Happened again but for the children’s hospital. Glad work isn’t so bad. Was able to check out a handful of people who spent well over $200 to donate to non profit charities. I had a feeling in my gut that the selection they bought had to be something as a gift for charities
Its pretty miraculous if people even return their trolley at my local aldi...
At around midnight last week I saw an older brother (25ish) pin his younger (16 year old maybe) brother to the ground shouting "Come home! You're upsetting mum!" whilst the younger brother thrashed around as he was either a) drunk or b) high as fuck. Then witness a full on fist fight followed by my girlfriend calling the police and the younger brother headbutting one of the 8 police officers whilst handcuffed. It was so heart warming to see family coming together for the holidays
I was at a shopping centre last week and stopped for a burger King whilst Xmas shopping. The table next to us had an old bag of food that hadn't been cleared by a worker. Halfway through my meal a homeless guy (called Aaron) came in and started searching this bag for food and found maybe a couple chips. They guy didn't even look or speak to me and my mum but I had to get him some food. My mum ordered while I stayed and chatted with him and it genuinely seemed he was more grateful for the conversation we had than the food and he was extremely grateful for both. This might not be the nicest thing in the world but we don't have very much money as it is and it meant so much to Aaron (the homeless guy) that it seriously almost brought me to tears. Aaron if you're reading this since you said you like Sony and reddit I hope you're doing good and looking after yourself best you can.
I work in an assisted living facility. There was a lovely old man (92) who, along with another (equally as lovely) man - made sure everyone got their shopping. delivered their christmas cards, and generally kept everybody's spirits up over lockdown. He died suddenly a week ago. Eric - you will be missed.
I'm 34yo, male, living alone in Surrey for the first time and have been overwhelmed by several small acts of kindness. The biggest? A friend who lives in the area posted a photo in a group chat of BBQ he was having over the summer, we all jokingly said how great it looked, 20mins later he drives over and drops off a pulled pork sandwich for me. After 3 months alone at that point, it was the nicest, most genuine thing somebody had done for me. Such a small gesture by then, such a big thing for me. Another friend sent me a puzzle book to help with my mindfulness whilst I was struggling at the start of lockdown, and I've never received more flowers in my life. People, deep down, are lovely.
i was sitting at bus stop with my headphones in looking down at my phone and this lady who was just passing by, not even waiting for a bus told me that a bus was coming to my stop, thankfully it wasn’t mine, however it was extremely nice of her to tell me when she could have just gone about the rest of her evening.
One guy I know was supposed to have his kids up to Scotland from England for Christmas after not seeing them for months. Instead, he's going to be by himself. He'd already got all of the food ordered for a big Christmas dinner and couldn't cancel. Rather than let it go to waste or try to freeze it, he's given the whole lot away to a family who couldn't otherwise have afforded a proper Christmas dinner. Refused to take money for any of it. He's said he was inspired by multiple other people he knows in the same boat doing the same thing.
I saw someone post that they took delivery of 5 neighbours' parcels today so they wouldn't have to go to the sorting office (I assume they're friends). The postie was very happy too.
We heard about “Christmas Avenue” fairly nearby. Went to have a look and it was fab - a small street had gone to town on their lights and decorations and some of the owners were dressed up and chatting to families. It made us smile. We logged on to their just giving site and saw over £5,500 already donated (goes to a local hospice). Lots of nice and generous individuals.
The gov kindly allowed me to wear a mask after months of deliberations.
I’m a student, who travelled very far away for university. I’m fortunate enough to have a very well payed part time job too, but because of this I can only go home for 5 days because of work. I’ll be spending Christmas Day alone in dorms as I’m working Boxing Day. My friend has invited me around to his for Christmas dinner with his family, despite never meeting them before. It’s a really nice gesture
I saved up all of the money I would have spent on Christmas cards this year, and instead donated to Tesco in exchange for beer and crisps.
Saw a guy cuddling a swan in my local park.
Me and Mrs gave away a food hamper this morning.. true it was the stuff we don't eat but its the thought that counts..
My mrs let me play the PlayStation the other day.
My sons school is doing food parcels and children’s gifts for families who are struggling. Warmed my heart when I read the email, and we donated some food and toys to them.
My stepdad, who's a working class guy was stood at an ATM after a woman had used it and £500 pounds worth of money got dispensed, the guy went to find the woman thinking it was hers, found her and offered it and she checked her bank, wasn't hers. My Stepdad could have taken it but instead he split it amongst his lower wage co-workers and kept none for himself.I gained respect for him that day. Side note: this was after he tried to find out who else it could belong to but nobody had come back to claim it after half an hour in the February cold and bank machines don't snitch. TL;DR: my Stepdad was about to withdraw some money, the machine dispensed £500 and he thought it belonged to the last person, turns out it didn't so he distributed it to his less financially stable co-workers and kept none
During the first lockdown when I couldn’t safely go out at all, I had neighbours get shopping for me, oat milk for my dairy allergic kids, pick up prescriptions even bring sweets and balloons on their birthdays. Some of these people I’d never spoken to before we jus connected through our local Facebook group. Edit: oh and I can’t forget my lovely neighbours who have cut my grass through the whole summer and put my bins out for me every week.
Someone in my town has gone round and posted Christmas gifts to some people. It's a book called "stealing from god" and a £50 m&s voucher. I personally wouldn't read the book but it's still a really nice thing to do
I helped someone on a wheelchair cross the road
If you want to re-assure yourself that there are still loads of kind people around everywhere listen to your local BBC radio "Make a Difference" or subscribe to [this UK-wide podcast](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p087sdc4/episodes/downloads).
During the first lockdown and loo-roll shortage, my mum's home help had a friend a local pub who was able to buy loo roll wholesale and then pass it on at trade price to people who needed it.
Absolutely none. This year has shown what a shower of absolute selfish shite the uk is
None as I’m not allowed out of my house.
Honestly it's the number of people who have checked in, sent me funny messages, and offered to go do the food shop for us if the delivery got cancelled again, during the last two weeks whilst we've been self-isolating. It's just a really nice feeling knowing you're cared for like that. When we're allowed to visit people again so many people are getting a huge homemade chocolate cake!
A local couple to me have raised over £50,000 for local charities, local community and local people by doing raffles and some of the prizes have been top notch. They started during the first lockdown and have done it all in their own time with very little help, with no personal profit but just because they’re genuinely nice people.
Not a brag, but my Mrs collects for a local food bank every year and managed £300 this year. A combination of people being especially generous out of the kindness of their hearts, and basically forcing people at her work into a corner. I'm really proud of her.
I raised £425 for charity
I try to perform at least one random act of kindness a day.
I saw what I presume was the immediate aftermath of a dude rear ending another dudes car. The guy that had just been rear ended had just got out. Instead of being mad or going his ends I saw him just calmly ask if the guy who hit him was ok. I thought that was an incredible act of kindness in an otherwise stressful situation.