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HELPING YOU HELPS ME

COVID-19 COMMUNITY ACTION

The Event

The evidence says that doing good and helping others can improve well-being and mental health. This was particularly important during the first UK lockdown due to Covid-19. Taking ActionAble online, our first virtual event looked at how we can improve our own well-being and resilience during the coronavirus crisis by understanding what issues really motivate us to act and inspiring each other to get involved with community initiatives.

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Going digital did not deter us, and in true ActionAble style, we put words and intentions in to practice, helping Hestia come up with ideas about how to keep their campaign fresh and by creating accountability buddy pairings for attendees to commit to some community action.

Our Speakers

We were joined by:  

 

  • Yasmin El Dabi, an Executive Coach specialised in aligning teams and getting leaders to heighten, broaden and manage their impact

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  • Aneira Roose-McClew, an educational content developer, who is working with Extinction Rebellion's Future Democracy Hub to create a community democracy engagement program for the Covid-19 crisis and beyond

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  • Amy Haworth Johns from Hestia, an organisation supporting people already in a crisis (such as fleeing domestic abuse, recovering from modern slavery or a mental health crisis)

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Impact

Our participants were able to brainstorm in groups and develop some fantastic ideas about how Hestia could keep their campaign relevant and engaging. Through donations, we were also able to raise £125 for Hestia's urgent coronavirus crisis appeal and we were able to amplify Hestia's request for help sourcing PPE for frontline staff.  

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Short polls under​taken at the start and end of the event showed that attendees rated their emotional wellbeing and likelihood to volunteer in their communities higher at the end of the event. One attendee provided feedback saying that "...you've changed my idea of 'volunteering'..."  

Action is Better

What are your values and motivation:

  • Identify the core values you can align to your behaviours to live a more fulfilled life

  • Ask yourself two questions:

    • What am I inspired to do?

    • What is the next step I need to take to make this happen?

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Connecting with your community:

  • Check out the work being done by the Future Democracy Hub

  • Join your local Covid Mutual Aid group

  • Offer support to a food bank or homeless shelter

  • Share good news with people on your street and friends and family

  • Organise a street library to swap books with neighbours

  • Facilitate an online community assembly in which people share feelings about the crisis.

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Want to explore more? Check out the resources here

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