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

Our village has seen numerous examples of kindness. A terminally ill lady asking for paracetamol one night got a doorstep delivery within 30 minutes. A request for food parcels for isolating people saw a steady stream making its way from those with to those without. Loads of driveway giveaways. A lady who took one of my books told me what a difference it had made to her during lockdown (calming topic).

When we were isolating at the beginning and the shortages in the supermarkets were at their height, I rang our local farm shop to ask if I could make a telephone order and pay over the phone and then collect it from a distant part of their car park.
They said that they didn’t accept telephone payments at that point but could gather the stuff together and I could pay when I got there.
I got there 30 mins later and the staff member I’d spoken to had actually paid for my shopping herself out of her own money rather than let me miss out as she couldn’t think of another way to do it so I reimbursed her directly and then sent a message to the farm owners saying how far above and beyond she had gone.
I’m still touched by it now, 10 weeks on.

Friends I have made through MumsNet have been a big support during lockdown. We report in to each other every day to say hello and check people are all alright. Warm and friendly messages can make all the difference when you live alone and are self isolating.

I've been shielding. I'm alone after a breakup just before Christmas. My neighbour has met me almost every day for a cuppa in the front gardens as she knows I've felt really lonely. Another neighbour makes cakes and gives us slices. A friend, who suffers from anxiety, has kept herself busy and sane by baking cakes for others and making evening meals for a local NHS worker. A friend sent me a box set of my favourite chocolate bars. I've sent family members games to entertain their children and books to help home schooling. So many are showing kindness.

My parents neighbours have looked out for them - knocked to check they were ok, cooked a meal, left them treats. our whatsapp street group have checked up on vulnerable neighbours. So many volunteers also signed up to fetch prescriptions and do shopping for people.

We’ve moved into a property with no garden and we had lots of things such as a lawn mower, strimmer, swimming pool, slide that we gave to families with children to help keep them entertained. Today I went shopping at my local Tesco and there was a huge queue and the staff came out with ice lollies For all the waiting customers. A friend of mine does live Facebook concerts to help keep people entertained. Kind snacks have sent off thousands of there goods to help out key workers x

Our local Foodbank has set up a Swap Shop for toys, books, dvds etc so great for the kids...we take something and swap it for something new - such a good thing for the community.

A really powerful example --> Our neighbour, who used to live in the house opposite us, passed away over Easter. It was not-confirmed but suspected to be Covid-19 related as his occupation (cab driver) bought him into contact with many and different people every working day. As can be imagined, it was a real shock when the news was announced. But the tear-inducing responses of the neighbourhood really shone a bright ray of hope through the dark cloud that had descended. The neighbouring households all cooked food for the family, and left the dishes and other items of comfort outside the house for the family to take in. Social distancing was still maintained in this way, with condolence messages delivered from afar. The amazing thing was that, even without any pre-planning, everyone seemed to do so one after the after, spread out over the week (as opposed to a whole lot in one go). I really hope that the family experienced a little solace in their time of grief.

Our village has been amazing, everyone has pulled together from the WI branch to the Guiding and Scouting groups, the library to the primary and secondary schools. There’s a Facebook and what’s app group that have coordinated volunteers to make sure the elderly and vulnerable are ok, arrange food deliveries, set up a collection and delivery service for prescriptions, even distributed activities for those that are struggling with boredom! It’s made me really appreciate our community and drawn the younger and older sections together.

Then there’s the Indian takeaway who are offering anyone who is shielding/vulnerable/isolating free meals. They have taken on extra staff so they can deliver to other, smaller, villages and offer more people free food.

A friend of a friend who we never met before sewed a face mask for me and my daughter ready for our next hospital appointment. A local running group has been picking up prescriptions from chemist and delivering them to those who can't go out. Our neighbour offered me yeast when she heard I hadn't been able to buy any for weeks. A friend dropped round some eggs when I couldn't get hold of any so that I could bake my daughter a birthday cake. All this done without any face to face contact. We're truly grateful. I like to think we've done kind deeds for others in the past and although it has felt strange and humbling being on the receiving end of such kindness, it shows that we are all in this together and will get through it together.

I live in a village and the local Spotted on Facebook have had numerous people putting out items like books, packs of toilet rolls, toys, tomato plants and household items FREE for people to collect on their daily exercise walk. They have also set up a group to shop, get prescriptions, walk dogs and any other services needed by the elderly, sick, or those shielding. Villagers have been making PPE, wash bags and collecting hand cream, and little niceties for the NHS. The children have started a painted stone caterpillar to add to on their walks, and teddies in the windows to spot which cheers everyone up. A great community spirit.

Now before I get started, I will clearly state, I have not witnessed or experienced any great or small act of kindness to others or our family.

My fiancee who is on shielding, due to cancer and COPD and Rhumatoid Arthritis, hasnt been out once, not even for one minute since the beginning of lockdown.

I.have a body riddled with osteoarthritis, trapped nerves, double sciatica, and a collapsing spine n neck, degenerative facet joints (the money bits on your spine), scoliosis, moderate deafness X2,.

I had/have had to, go out regularly to get shopping, and prescriptions (can't cope without my morphine) for me n Jane.

Yes, we have a box weekly with basics (by basics, I mean just enough to live on, of you had nothing else) which added to normal shopping, helped.

We've received no assistance, and no has asked if we need assistance.

Fortunately, I have an extremely high pain threshold, and can cope when some may have not begun... If I don't do it, it ain't getting done.

I'm proud, that I've managed to keep us going, and well fed. Along with paying the bills as usual, and topping up the gas card. Roaming around to find a way to post a parcel to our daughter for her birthday, her wife's birthday, and their daughter's birthday, along with Easter goodies!

There have been days I've come home shaking from exhaustion and pain, but I did it ... It's my ability to do this, that makes me bad for disability groups, as I won't hold back on whiners! With mental health issues that mean I just say things out, plain and unsugarcoated!

I'm not boasting to those who think I am, I'm just saying what I did to keep us going.

When you get no extra money to pay for help, no support groups who want to help or just refuse to reply to you, I have to do it. Ain't no fairy gonna fly down and wave no fucking magic wand, so guess what?

Been nice to read, but also be slightly envious of some of the stories here.

My local butchers have been amazing organising and collecting shopping for people from local shops and delivering it to people in our town and surrounding villages who are isolating. Local volunteers are helping them pick it up a real community spirit.

Not seen anything

A colleague’s husband owns a small independent record shop in our town. He has struggled financially (his wife and him moved into their first home in the first days of lockdown and they have 2 young children) as had to close the store and has not been entitled to govt support. However, he has held a weekly online music quiz for the community and today posted details about his reopening and how this would work, by offering appointments only, to keep everyone as safe as possible. At the end of his poster in bold type was the most amazing thing I have heard during this time. He wrote :

“please note that if you are struggling mentally, feel free to use these appointment slots as a way of talking to someone. Music is a great healer and I’m happy to put on a record and have a chat, no purchase necessary”

There is a man with an enormous financial burden as a result of the pandemic and yet is still putting the welfare and mental health of members of the public, before making money.

In our town someone set up a Corona Care group. Every road has 1 or more volunteers, every house had a postcard with someone's number on to call for anything they need.
We have people shopping, phone chatting, praying, doing deliveries etc.

Plus a 'pay it forward' page where people list what they are giving away and people message them to collect from outside

Kids growing from seeds and leaving the pots outside with an honesty box - all money going to food bank

People baking every day and taking into all keyworker places - shops, ambulance/fire/police, doctors, care homes etc.

People collecting toiletries for hampers for hospitals and women's refuges

Others donating to pay for the supplies

Just incredible community & neighbourly support

We've been looking after my in-laws by my husband doing their weekly shop and setting them up with Skype so they can see our children.

I set up a support group for our local area for people to post wants/needs, ask questions and generally to keep spirits up. I also managed to get named volunteers by village to go on an encrypted register held by our two local GP surgeries for the elderly, vulnerable and those not on Facebook to use when needed. It's been used a lot, and through it we've managed to support our local cafe as the owner has sourced things like flour and yeast through her caterers and distributed them to us.

I'm a keyworker on an essential infrastructure project so have been working full time on site. The good thing is that site is only a couple of miles up the road from my house, so whilst I haven't had a nursery run to do my commute has gone from 40 miles a day to just 6! I've saved a fair bit on fuel so donated that money to my local branch of Riding for the Disabled, of which I'm a trustee, and adopted our two carriage driving ponies in my children's names.

My dad died just before lockdown began which was completely unexpected
Alongside everything else we were unable to have a funeral for him which was incredibly hard.

I found the bereavement thread (that nobody wants to join) on Mumsnet and others going through the same thing. I just wanted to say how amazing this site is when it is kind and supportive

I’m happy to do a more regular shop for my parents but they do live quite far away. Luckily their very kind neighbours have stepped in and saved me the regular 3 hour trips. Initially I didn’t want them heading to the pharmacy to pick up prescription and things have taken off from there. Even neighbours on the other side who they’ve been warring with for years have been sharing food with them.

Wow. You all live in amazing places.
Me, I'm watching our neighbours do stuff, get together, and totally leave us out. They are doing driveway exercises a couple if evenings a week. Mist of them out on their drives doing joe wicks style HIIT stuff. We can see it we can hear it, but dont get told when its happening to join in.
Please dont forget that quiet house ith the new
shy, neighbours next door while you are all organising things.

My sister is an NHS worker, the gifts and thanks they have all received has been amazing.

On our street, we have had notes through the door offering help with anything we need from other neighbours.

My nephew had a terrible fall recently and my sister was at the hospital with him and the village fair organisation rallied round made sure they had shopping and sent a beautiful hamper for all of the family. To cheer them up it was v kind. They’ve also offered my ward scrub bags and chocolates to take for my colleagues (children’s ward)
Lots of mind gifts also sent to ward for staff and families people are very generous

Our village was very quick to set up a Facebook group to provide support to anyone in need. The members have been busy doing shopping, posting letters and picking up prescriptions for people who aren't able to do it themselves.

My DH is a key worker and a local chef cooked us a couple of lovely family meals as a thank you to him.

A neighbour used her furlough to grow a whole bunch of seedlings which she's sold in aid of the local food bank

My insurance company just sent me a £25 refund as there have been fewer claims in lockdown and they wanted it share that back with all of its customers - a simple email explaining why and saying the money will be in my bank next week just landed in my inbox. Awesome !

Elephant insurance in case anyone is interested !