Ahead of International Day of Happiness this Saturday (20th March), children and young people involved with St Helens Borough Councill’s Youth Service have been carrying out random acts of kindness by putting together self-care packages to support isolated, vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic.
Made up of items such as jigsaws, donated books, chocolate and puzzles – the packs also contained sticky notes with positive messages written on, including the inspirational quote: ‘The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta’ put up with the rain’ attributed to the legendary American singer, song-writer – Dolly Parton.
The idea for the project came as a way of boosting moral after Youth Engagement Officers noticed a decline in children’s mental health and wellbeing during the current lockdown – and comes during the same month as International Day of Happiness, the theme of this year’s event being ‘keep calm, stay wise and be kind.’
Praising those involved with the project – including Donland’s Chemist in Haydock which allowed the youth service to donate the packs to some of the people they care for, and even helped deliver them – Councillor Nova Charlton, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
“Our borough has long been known as a place which really pulls together to look after its own in times of need, and this has never been clearer, certainly not in my lifetime, than during the past 12-months amid a global health pandemic when the #StHelensTogether approach has really shone through what has been a dark and difficult time.
“Random acts of kindness like this are just some ways that you can boost mental health and wellbeing, not just for the recipient who may be going through a hard time – but also your own as it’s rewarding to see their reaction and how grateful they are, no matter now big or small the gesture is.”
Activities to help keep children and young people happy and healthy can be found by visiting: Padlet.com/StHelensYC/growyourhappy
Children and young people can also check St Helens Borough Council’s Youth Service out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
