February Focus: live kind, love kindness

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

A word our recipients often use in thanking donors for their support is ‘kindness’. Individuals describe being overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers in donating to requests that have made such a difference to their lives.

Over the last couple of months we have been moved by the prevalence of kindness amongst our network, from individuals we have supported and those offering support to others. We have shared some stories particularly demonstrating great kindness; Rebecca’s story that was shared on Look North received an incredible response from strangers offering financial assistance and words of kindness, we shared the story of one of our recipient’s desire to support prison leavers, made possible thanks to donations to purchase a laptop, and there have been a number of messages of thanks from recipients describing how they hope to “pay the kindness forward” as soon as they are able.

February is a month many of us associate with love (thanks to Saint Valentine!). We see how love is shared through kindness and this month we encourage you to join us as we consider how we can celebrate this, be it through donating to those in need, sharing our posts of encouragement and thanks, or joining in our efforts to show kindness to those who need it most.

Below are some dates to remember; we’ll use these days to think about kindness and how we can show it and share it:

Valentine’s Day: 14th February

Random Act of Kindness Day: 17th February

Day of Social Justice: 20th February