What acts of kindness have you seen during lockdown?

[YanaMumsnet]

Despite the struggles we’re all facing, we’ve seen some wonderful moments that have brought people together: families sending each other gifts, friends hosting online quizzes, neighbours picking up food for those stuck at home and can’t get a delivery slot.

Yes, it can be tough. But it’s those little moments that show our spirit. We’re curious to hear from you about any acts of kindness that you’ve seen and find the areas that people might be struggling with the most.

So we are asking you:
How have you or your family been supporting each other through these times? (Especially if you’re looking after elderly relatives.) Have you seen anybody reach out to someone in need? What did they do and how? If you or anyone close to you needs special care, how are they getting it? Which organizations or brands have you seen going out of their way, if any? What have they done?

We’d love to hear all your inspiring stories, so share them in the thread below. All MNers who post with their experience will be entered into a prize draw where one will win a £100 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Terms and conditions apply

[EmanResu7]

Someone came round to my Gran's house and put a note through the door to let her know her that they were going to leave her some things as part of a community effort to make sure everyone was ok. The next week they left a box with some books and jigsaws, a few groceries and some phone numbers of local people she could call for a chat or some help if she needed it. When they came the third week, she was waiting for them to say thank you, and it turned out to be a group of young men who were making sure everyone in town knew they were available. It makes me teary just thinking about it.

[Catiopea]

Sharing garden produce between friends, local orgs setting up check-in phone calls for the shielding/vulnerable, visiting isolated relatives on behalf of friends stuck outside the area, small packs handed to homeless of toiletries including masks & hand-sanitiser.

Generally a real community spirit from businesses to neighbours - sort of a combination of ‘local is loved’ & ‘we are all in this together’

I apologise every time posting re the pandemic because, for me, it has been nearly fully positive and of course it has been horrific for others.

I hope we can take forward the best of who and how we are, and leave the worst aspects fully behind us.

[Merryweather80]

A friend of mine who herself had had little to nothing at times, set up a local food bank type venture called community cupboard. We've donated food and a variety of things. It's grown so much she now has a trailer with shelves in it and she's there every day helping people. Our town us quite small, so for it to get this big is amazing! Her own sons are disabled she works amazingly hard with them too. She always has a smile and is cheery.
Thank you JS in P if you read this. A true inspiration and a genuinely kind, lovely person. 💐🍫🥂

[Pickypolly]

The fella on the corner who mows his lawn dressed as a dinosaur, nearly every week through lock down.
Genius.
Kids want to actually go out to see and wave to him.

[greengreengrass14]

My 15 year old daughter has been very brave throughout and has always shown consideration for me, asking if I am okay. We try to check in with each other's mental health.

[AltheaThoon]

My parents are elderly but not shielding. After a few weeks of going mad with nothing to do they decided to offer to walk the dogs of those who were shielding. It was good for the dogs to get exercise and took the pressure off the owners.

[NobbyButtons]

Hundreds of people joined a Facebook group just for my local area of town to help their neighbours, for example if they needed grocery shopping doing or prescriptions collecting. Someone asked if anyone had a secondhand microwave for sale and someone else said they would buy them one. We have a street WhatsApp group and it's been nice to get to know people, albeit virtually.

[Teabird]

At the beginning of lockdown when homeschooling etc was very fraught! Someone left Freddos on the doorstep of all the houses in our cul-de-sac that had kids living there! My girls were very delighted!

[sheilads105]

Seeing people litter picking on the beach after another sunny day.

[SmileyShazza]

We had two fruit and veg boxes delivered by mistake from a local greengrocer, I asked them if they wanted one back and they said to keep it so we gave it to our elderly neighbour who lives alone and was unable to go out to the shops.

We also had a big clear out of toys, books and household items and put a table on our street with a sign saying that people could help themselves to anything they wanted for free.

[Rufus27]

My partner lost his job the week before lockdown and stands no chance of getting another position in his industry (aviation) for a long time. We have two toddlers with additional needs and I care for an elderly relative so can’t work many hours myself.

Within days of losing his job we’d received gift vouchers from friends, offers to help with his cv, local fair gave free entry to anyone redundant from his company, local spa offered the same. Timpson Dry Cleaners offered free suit cleaning for job interviews (to anyone unemployed). We are blown away with people’s kindness.

[Lemming20]

People doing more to care for elderly neighbours and relatives. Hopefully it will continue after lockdown.

[sheilads105]

My friends and I have been chatting on a What's App group and swapping seedlings...it's been so encouraging to know we are all in the same boat. No FOMO. Plus we are now all Tomato growing experts!

[welshmardymum]

i work and my husband is a key worker so is also working and my neighbor has been teaching my children 3 times a week over Skype - it was fantastic, made me stop worrying that they were doing nothing and it has also strengthened their relationship with our neighbors over lock down and educated them!

[AugustRose]

My mum lives in a street of mainly older people (she is 67). One lady in particular (80) was very lonely as her husband died last year. A few of the women picked some flowers from their gardens for her, and each took their own cuppa and sat along the wall of this lady's garden so they could chat while distancing. She was very emotional and hugely grateful as she had been in the house for months (she was having shopping/medication delivered).

It is a lovely street where they all look out for each other and it's actually been quite hard on all of them as they are used to visiting each other regularly.

[Mrstross]

My 21 year old goddaughter helped an elderly gentleman in a supermarket when nobody else was bothering. The man was reduced to tears as he said it’s not something you see in her generation. She visited him at his request (socially distanced) and he gave her a card and small gift which overwhelmed her. She’s a student nurse too and I know she’ll be amazing!

[Carriecakes80]

When lockdown first began my Mum was terrified, as my Stepfather was poorly, and while shes a nurse and still volunteering with the paramedics, she hated being alone and unable to see anyone, so my son spent his Christmas and birthday money andbought my Mum an Ipad.
He spent ages via text explaining how to use it, teaching her how to face time, thus commenced a lot of frustration when she kept turning it off and telling him it was broken lol, but all in all my boy pretty much saved my Mums sanity, and I know how much he had wanted to save up for a new bike, so that kindness he showed his Nan, meant the world to me. x
(this is a pic of them together when my boy was first born!) x

[rachaelsit]

I think I underestimated just how much joy my kids would bring our neighbours, who are largely elderly. We have 3 boys and they’ve loved delivering shopping items to their door step and painted them rainbows for their windows (and then had further requests). Equally the neighbours have shown great kindness to my boys, getting involved in simple games or running races at one time. Lovely reciprocal warmth and care

[Mariola1984]

What kindness i saw during the lockdown is been people helping each other , supporting each other im working for the amazing NHS but had to shield as 36 weeks pregnant with the second one i was supporting my colleagues by organising food , cakes , sweets to keep them going i was really amused how many companies help us during this difficult time x

[Smile13]

Our street have a whats app group and there have been so many offers of help for those that have needed it, or just appreciated some help with things. One of our neighbours is kindly making me some masks, I don’t have the first clue about sewing so I’m so grateful. We’ve swapped vegetables and plants with neighbours and paving slabs and bricks! It’s enabled us to get to know people and for that I’m feeling so much more settled where we live.

[Teaspoon74]

My dad is diabetic, on his own, and in his kid 70s. I've been really touched by how neighbours have looked after him and cooked food/shopped etc.

He's fiercely independent but I know it's had a real affect on him. And I'm delighted that despite the distance, I know he is being looked out for.

[Hopezibah]

As we've had to shield throughout this time we've benefited from other people's kindness with strangers collecting our prescriptions for us and a friend making a facemask ready for our next hospital appointment. It has been a time where so much good has been seen but also some people's negativity has come out too. I'd like to think that as we often help others when we can that we'll be able to pay it forward once we are able to by helping others again.

[powkin]

Neighbour brought over punnet of fresh cherries from their cherry tree and my work friend cycled over and left a freshly baked sourdough on our doorstep.
I have posted nice chocolates to work friends and baked some weaning treats for my new friend whose husband had just gone back to work full time after being on furlough.

[freakfire]

A few people round my way, myself included, have put free stuff outside the house so those walking by can cheer themselves up with a little something (and it helps us declutter too, especially while the charity shops are closed)

[LITTLEMUTLEY23]

Me and my partner are both keyworkers. At the very start of lockdown when some items were hard to get, our neighbours (dont know that well) left us a small food parcel at the front door.