March is finally over! This everlasting month certainly made January feel like the most exciting and eventful month of our lives. Now that we are into April, and in the midst of a pandemic which is predicted to get worse before it gets better, it seems that all we need is some good news. With all the doom and gloom, we thought that we would inject some positivity into your lives!

It is true that every cloud has a silver lining. Uncertain, rough and stressful situations tends to bring out the best in people. Here are some of our favourite examples of random acts of kindness that we have stumbled across…

Support for the NHS:

On Monday 28th of Mach 2020 at 8pm, the whole of the UK were asked to open their doors or windows of their homes in order to clap for NHS and care workers, who have to continue working through this pandemic. It was so heartwarming to hear and see how many people were showing their support. Remarkable videos are available across the Internet which show numerous cities, towns, villages and streets taking part and showing their gratitude. Moreover, The government called for 250,000 volunteers to help the protect those at the highest risk of catching coronavirus. Within a day, 400,000 people went online to apply to be a part of the volunteer army. So far, 750,000 people have applied. This number has continued to grow, so much so that they have temporary stopped allowing people to sign up!

Supporting food banks:

 Due to stockpiling and empty supermarkets, food banks need your help now more than ever! This group of friends realised that food banks are not getting as many donations as they usually do. So, they kindly decided to help out Food For All, a London based charity. These individuals have helped with donations and distribution of meals to those in need. Food For All are looking to increase their activity in light of the crisis, so they are looking for volunteers who are able to lend a hand. These small random acts of kindness really do go a long way and inspire us to do more!

Staying in contact with humanity whilst keeping a distance

Keeping spirits up in this uncertain time is so essential. In Italy, people have been recorded singing together from apartment blocks. This has since happened in Brooklyn, New York. In the UK, a neighbour took down a fence panel so that his neighbour and himself were able to have a chat (at a social distance of course). Others have recorded quizzes from front lawns. The need to be in contact with other people is so important. It is lovely that people have been able to find away to connect with others whilst following government guidelines, staying at home and keeping their distance.

Companies and celebrities doing their bit

Over the past few weeks we have seen companies and celebrities using their platform to do good. Supermarkets have put dedicated shopping hours in place for elderly and vulnerable individuals and NHS workers. Audible are offering free books to help children with their learning whilst not at school. Joe Wicks has been uploading a 30 minute PE lesson to YouTube every week day at 9am. This is helping both children and adults stay fit!  Moreover, he has been donating his ad revenue from these videos to the NHS – how wonderfully kind.  John Lewis and Partners have donated £75,000 each to AGE UK, FareShare and The Trussell Trust. LinkedIn is making 16 of its online learning courses free. This will help individuals to keep busy, develop new skills and to work towards achieving their future aspirations. Disneyland is donating all its excess food. Celebrities’ have also been putting on live online concerts to provide light entertainment for their fans and to spread positivity. Jos Buttler, professional England cricketer sold his winning world cup cricket shirt, so far raising £66,000 for the NHS.

Helping those at risk

Many individuals have been helping those who are at a higher risk than themselves. The Nextdoor app connects people in an area, and has allowed people to get in contact with those at risk people and offer their support. This ranges from collecting shopping to picking up and delivering medicine.

Humour is definitely a random act of kindness

We believe that the humour published on social media has been a random act of kindness. This humour has brought smiles and laughter to many people who have been feeling gloomy due to the current situation. Social media has been the best place to find the silver lining in the dark and seemingly permanent cloud. From the lasagne being built in Wembley stadium (if you are confused, we suggest you google it) to endless memes and short videos spreading humour about the situation that we find ourselves in. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok will have you laughing for hours with all sorts of content, so we really recommend you tap into this.

Social media challenges

During this crisis, social media is showing how beneficial it is to all of our lives. James Campbell tweeted  (jokingly initially) that if his tweet was retweeted 10,000 times, he would run a marathon in his back garden. This wasn’t a celebrity with a 200m long garden, this was your average Joe with a garden the length of a whole 6 metres. This would mean he would have to run up and down the garden 7,000 times which is obviously daunting for anyone. Quickly twitter got to work and within the day he reached over 10,000 tweets probably to his shock and disbelief. Keeping to his word and on April fools day which is also ironically his birthday – he definitely fooled himself –  he started his epic adventure in his back garden and finished the marathon in just over 5 hours. Not putting his achievement to waste, he set up a Just Giving page which has so far raised over £20,000, with the hope to raise over 25,000. From all of us at Earl Street, we would like to congratulate James on this achievement and to all that donated to his endeavours.

Do you want to spread random acts of kindness?

Random acts of kindness do not have to be big gestures. This can be as small as picking up the phone and making sure your family and friends are coping well. It could be doing the shopping for an elderly neighbour who needs help or donating to foodbanks. You could praise your friends or a colleague. Any positivity right now will go a long way, so do not think that your random acts of kindness are wasted! Don’t be afraid to share your random acts of kindness on social media, this not only brings a smile to peoples face, but it inspires other people to help others too! We would like to Thank you for reading our blog and taking an interesting in spreading random acts of kindness.

We hope these random acts of kindness have inspired you to pass on the positivity, from Earl Street Employment Consultants