Acts of Kindness

Acts of kindness was the theme of the party this year. We know that one of the strengths of the Fair Shares community is in how generous our participants are with the acts of kindness they show others. It is those small moments that can make a big difference and in many cases change someone’s life. We took some time out to talk about those acts of kindness at the party and filled our board with simple examples of what people are doing.

One amazing act of kindness came from Sharon who made 30 gift bags to hand out at the Christmas party as she wanted to put a smile on people’s faces. She did this in memory of her mother Dot and her daughter Sharon and I just want to take a moment to share their story:

Dot was 79 and a regular at the Fair Shares lunch group on Mondays. She’d come along, chat to people, have a cup of tea and a cigarette! She never even ate lunch but she loved just spending time with the group. She very sadly passed away last December and at the Funeral Sharon talked about how important the lunches were to her mother and how Dot really valued the kindness others in the group had shown her and how welcoming they were to her. Tragically a day after Dot’s funeral Sharon’s daughter (Dot’s granddaughter), Sophie, also passed away after medical complications. Through her bereavement Sharon has decided to do acts of kindness in memory of her mother and daughter, which you can see on facebook. She has raised money for the Samaritans, Listening Post and Child Bereavement UK and does all she can to honour Dot and Sophie. She wanted to make the gift bags for Fair Shares because she knew how much Dot had enjoyed being part of our group.

It was really humbling to offer the gift bags to our participants at the party. Everyone loved the gesture and it did in fact put a huge smile on all their faces, many of whom remember Dot well.