A bereavement counselor from Somerset joined Bear Grylls, Michael Sheen and more than 100,000 others for a national day of thanksgiving on July 4.
With communities across the UK looking forward to more freedom to meet and socialize this summer, a campaign to say ‘thank you’ to those in our local communities who have helped us though the crisis for the coronavirus has received a wave of support, particularly in Somerset.
The campaign calls on people to mark the day by coming together with their neighbors, friends and family and joining a huge thank you nationwide.
The Thanksgiving Day campaign is led in Somerset by Mike Jones, a Marie Curie Companion volunteer who provided emotional support phone calls to those bereaved during the pandemic as part of Marie Curie’s bereavement support service.
Mike said: “I was pleasantly surprised at the number of people who volunteered to support others when they needed it most during these difficult times. I have found volunteering during the pandemic at times difficult and moving, but also extremely rewarding and useful.
“It was very touching to watch and I want to personally thank all those volunteers who have made such a difference to those people who have been grieving over the past year.
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The idea was proposed by a small group of people from across the UK, including May Parsons, the nurse who administered Britain’s first Covid-19 vaccine in Coventry in December.
Ms Parsons said: ‘Thanksgiving day gives me the opportunity to thank all of my wonderful colleagues working in the NHS and social services.
“This has been the most difficult year of our professional careers, and you have all worked so hard to treat all the sick patients who have passed through our doors, while delivering the largest and most successful immunization program ever. history of the NHS.
“I want to thank the amazing volunteers who gave of their time to support us and those in their community who needed help.
“I am very grateful to everyone who kept us going: the school teams who looked after our children, the store staff, the carriers and the delivery people. We couldn’t have done it without you.
“I am incredibly proud of our staff and volunteers, and I want to encourage everyone to participate in the Thanksgiving Day in any way they can.
The invitation of Ms Parsons and others has now been supported by well-known names including the Archbishop of Canterbury, actor Michael Sheen, astronaut Tim Peake, Paralympian Ellie Simmonds, adventurer Bear Grylls and the Chef and Big Lunch Ambassador Ainsley Harriott.
It has also received support from dozens of national organizations, including Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Royal Volunteer Service, FA and the Together coalition.
The NHS will also join on July 4, following huge public support for the health service on its 72nd birthday the same weekend last year.
In a video posted to launch the campaign, celebrities said who they wanted to thank.
Bear Grylls, Boy Scout Leader, says: “The past year has been tough for all of us. But we overcame it by coming together and helping each other. In fact, I believe this crisis has shown us that our communities are much stronger than people realize.
“So one of the few good things to come out of all of this is that we each have a lot of people to say thank you to. I will say a huge thank you to my family and our amazing Scout volunteers.
People and organizations across the UK came up with their own ideas on how to make ‘Thanksgiving Day’ special. Plans already in place include:
A spokesperson for the Ensemble coalition said: “A national day of thanks gives all of us a chance to mark the end of this phase of the crisis and to say thank you to everyone who has helped us through.
“So many of us want this chance, but it also gives us the opportunity to look ahead, to help us remember what matters and how we want to stay connected to each other in the future.”
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Source: www.somersetlive.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-05-09 21:00:00
