Kindness shines through in lockdown
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek – Kindness shines through in lockdown
These last few weeks have certainly highlighted some wonderful acts of kindness, generosity and community spirit by many people including Barnsley College staff and students. Assistant Principal Liz Burkey has been volunteering with her local S6 foodbank in Sheffield to help provide food for those most in need.
Foodbanks are struggling due to the current crisis as a result of a reduction in food donations and many volunteers unable to provide support in the same way due to shielding or having to stay at home themselves. At the same time, demand has escalated with regular eight tonne lorry loads of food going out to the busiest foodbank sites for distribution from the S6 site alone where Liz volunteers.
Evening visits to supermarkets to stock up on essential food items and warehouse drop-offs have become part of Liz’s new daily routine.
Liz said: “I have a shopping list each day of items that haven’t been available through wholesale and so I drive round supermarkets to stock up on an evening. I’m the person who gets overexcited when they get to walk out having been allowed to purchase 140 tins of chopped tomatoes, which is about one day’s supply for the foodbank. The products vary each day that I need to source. It could be biscuits and tinned rice pudding next!”
Staff and students across the whole of Barnsley College have been volunteering, sharing, supporting and caring during this lockdown period and certainly highlighted the positivity that can come out of a crisis.
Responses