United Kingdom, April 2022
The Holosophic Society UK (HSUK) decided to support two charities in April, Open Hands and One Roof Leicester. We contacted them to find out how we could best offer support. They needed items that would support vulnerable families or homeless people who were being rehoused in their care.
A few volunteers were tasked with purchasing the items requested by the charities. They started by visiting a household goods store where they purchased kitchenware essentials such as dinner sets, cutlery sets, mugs, baking trays, toasters, kettles, and tea towels. Next, they purchased clothing as one of the charities had some specific requests.
On Action Day, we met at an old church, full of character. The hall had wooden floors, high ceilings, even a piano in the corner, and plenty of room for the volunteers to work safely with ample space between them. We arranged 4 workstations and worked in teams. As the recipients were struggling families or individuals getting started in new homes, our goal was to put as much kindness, care and attention into the packing of the items as possible. We let everyone know to take their time, paying attention to detail, and to attach labels with itemized lists to make it easy for Open Hands and One Roof Leicester to distribute.
The volunteers couldn’t wait to get started. Once they got going, silence ensued as everyone concentrated on the task at hand. All that could be heard was the sound of paper being cut, the folding of paper as boxes were wrapped, scribbling pens writing contents, and the shuffling of coloring pens drawing flowers and hearts. It was a truly beautiful sight and sound, full of care and purpose.
When it was time for lunch, everyone deservedly took a break as the packing was almost complete. However, during the break we had an unexpected surprise. One of the volunteers arrived with a third car brimming with new items! Kettles, toasters, cutlery, pillows, duvets now needed to be packed, too. The team was thrilled, joking about the delivery, and eagerly returned to the activity with zest and zeal!
By the end, everyone was smiling, warmed by the scale of the effort and the huge stack of uniformly packed parcels we had accumulated. All the volunteers were buzzing and asking when the next charity action would be.
Following the Action Day, we contacted the charities to deliver the parcels. A few volunteers transported items to One Roof Leicester’s storage unit. The following day we delivered our packages to the second charity, Open Hands. Overall we donated 160 essential home items.
The team recognised what a beautiful, touching and humbling experience this activity was, knowing that so many people would be benefitted. It was heart-warming and felt like this was such a meaningful purpose to help others.
