83,134 Acts of Kindness
When I look back on the last 6 months, it is still hard to believe all that happened. The over-riding feelings and emotions remain a sense of humility, hope, and pride.
The level of help and support we received from so many different people and organisations, in lots of different ways, was truly humbling. Although the weight of responsibility felt overwhelming at times, it was also a huge privilege to be at the very heart of an amazing collective effort. People came out of the shadows for others in their time of need.
My hope remains that on the back of such an emotional,
heart-breaking period of time, people will take sufficient time to reflect on
the many lessons learned. Better still,
that we will ensure in our rush and desire to get back to normal, we don’t lose
sight of what "normal" actually looked like and sadly remains (or has got
worse) for many low income families battling to stay afloat, and in some cases
to keep going.
The past 6 months have shone a light on some things we have
allowed to become the accepted norm. How
did we reach a point where food banks have become an accepted part of the
fabric of our society? And we live in a world where sometimes we can be so quick to judge
others less fortunate than ourselves?
For some people, connecting to a real sense of purpose, to "a feeling" of being a part of a genuine community effort has been an uplifting
experience. We have been reminded of the
joy to be found in giving and helping others, at a time when perhaps the
direction of travel was one of greater division and divide. I do hope the spirit of kindness and
compassion remains strong.
On a personal note, working with other like-minded people
and organisations has helped to sustain me at times. From across all parts of society and walks of
life. It reminded me that “none of us
is as smart as all of us”.
As you would expect, and thanks to generosity of others, I
am hugely proud of the role we have been able to play so far. The short films we have made can and will act
as a permanent reminder of these unprecedented times and our collective efforts
to make a meaningful contribution.
Our desire to help and efforts are now being re-directed, with
our transition out of a full-blown food distribution hub well underway. We will continue to play an active role in
tackling food insecurity in our local community through various actions and
initiatives e.g. the launch of "Roots, Shoots and Scores" in partnership with
Re-Think Food and some local Primary Schools.
In addition, we will continue to build on new relationships,
deeper connections created with other local community groups and organisations
these past 6 months.
We remain totally focused and committed on playing our part
in working with others to help improve the quality of lives for people living
in North Edinburgh. As ever, we truly
believe each and everyone “is worth something”.
If you would like to make a donation to support our ongoing efforts, please click here
Do take care,
Douglas.