The Kindness Postbox
Nominee Profile
Location: Fermanagh and Omagh
The Kindness Postbox is an intergenerational project which began in Enniskillen connecting school children with residents in care homes.
We are two best friends who met in pain management clinic, and formed a solid bond immediately..
As we both have long term underlying health conditions, we understand how isolating illnesses can be, and having volunteered in the care home sector, we both know, although we may be unable to work in a conventional sense, what we do is a vital service which must continue, to help alleviate loneliness.
We launched on 21 April 2021, with the view to connecting elderly care home residents with school children during the pandemic.
Being a trained storyteller, I am fortunate to be able to shared stories via zoom to the care homes, and I could see how defeated the residents were becoming due to loneliness and isolation.
We had a solution and put it into place.
We created a Kindness Postbox, which is a child sized postbox with a rainbow on top. We leave the Kindness Postbox onsite in schools for a week at a time. The children then create artworks, letters, poems etc, pop them into the Kindness Postbox, which we then deliver to care home and elderly residents across the region.
We have created 60+ partnerships across NI, UK, America and Australia, including Libraries NI, Western health Trust, Western Education Board, Hospitals and councils to name a few.
Since we launched in 2021, we adapted the Kindness Postbox to enable us to create meaningful connections between any vulnerable, marginalised or lonely folks and now we reach America and Australia!
We are completely volunteer led and run, and have won awards both regionally and nationally including The British Diversity Award Community Project of the Year.
We continue to make space for all people to create meaningful connections through both letters, art works and now shared stories.
We are grateful to be considered for the National Diversity Award 202
We are two best friends who met in pain management clinic, and formed a solid bond immediately..
As we both have long term underlying health conditions, we understand how isolating illnesses can be, and having volunteered in the care home sector, we both know, although we may be unable to work in a conventional sense, what we do is a vital service which must continue, to help alleviate loneliness.
We launched on 21 April 2021, with the view to connecting elderly care home residents with school children during the pandemic.
Being a trained storyteller, I am fortunate to be able to shared stories via zoom to the care homes, and I could see how defeated the residents were becoming due to loneliness and isolation.
We had a solution and put it into place.
We created a Kindness Postbox, which is a child sized postbox with a rainbow on top. We leave the Kindness Postbox onsite in schools for a week at a time. The children then create artworks, letters, poems etc, pop them into the Kindness Postbox, which we then deliver to care home and elderly residents across the region.
We have created 60+ partnerships across NI, UK, America and Australia, including Libraries NI, Western health Trust, Western Education Board, Hospitals and councils to name a few.
Since we launched in 2021, we adapted the Kindness Postbox to enable us to create meaningful connections between any vulnerable, marginalised or lonely folks and now we reach America and Australia!
We are completely volunteer led and run, and have won awards both regionally and nationally including The British Diversity Award Community Project of the Year.
We continue to make space for all people to create meaningful connections through both letters, art works and now shared stories.
We are grateful to be considered for the National Diversity Award 202