Celebrating kindness and creativity during a crisis

27 April 2020

As I look back on this week what stands out has been the creativity and kindness that has made what at times seem impossible possible!  

I celebrate the creativity of thousands of our charity partners who are working tirelessly to support those in need, by adapting their services from community centres to community outreach providing much needed essential products to keep people safe, clean and well. This network of charities is irreplaceable and are #NeverMoreNeeded.  

We know that this crisis is not a great leveller, there are many who are being disproportionately impacted. Those who were vulnerable before March, are at even greater risk now. We celebrate the heroes who in the toughest of times continue to show an outpouring of kindness to their communities, as more people in the UK and around the world seek life’s essentials to get them through. 

For example, our friends at Lambeth Elfrida Rathbone Society in London have been forced to close their drop-in service but are continuing to support individuals with learning disabilities by delivering shopping, food parcels and meals. In Edinburgh, Val and her team at CCLASP are still supporting children and teenagers suffering from cancer or leukaemia and their families. During the coronavirus pandemic, the vulnerable families they work with have been scared to leave their homes so CCLASP are providing essential like handwash, toilet roll and cleaning supplies to their doorsteps to allow them to self-isolate safely.  

Within our own operations, we are being stretched daily to meet the three fold demand for essential products. I celebrate the creativity of our warehouse team who within 48 hours this week had doubled our packing capabilities while meeting social distancing guidelines. Ingeniously, this included bringing in staff from the same household who can work more closely together! It is often the smallest ideas that have the greatest impact. I am enormously grateful to all our warehouse team for the incredible work they are doing!