Sharing Packages of Hope at Christmas
One of the highlights of our festive season at the Museum is our annual Packages of Hope event!
A few years ago we were based at Arlington House, a mixed-used homelessness hostel in the heart of Camden, so extending kindness in this way is very dear to my heart :)
So the week before Christmas, our community came together to co-create packages of hope for people who were on the street and without a home to go to.
Our hearts were warmed by all of the contributions, and in particular the hand-written letters of hope written to go into the bags. We all know that it’s not simply receiving much-needed items that help to raise our spirits, but knowing that someone else cares, too :)
It was so amazing to have so many children involved, and to witness them experiencing the gift of giving! Hopefully it will become an amazing childhood memory for them to look back on in the future.
One lady came before the event started, and dropped off 30 gift packages that she had made herself! As she was leaving, she shared that she’d once been homeless herself, and so she felt moved to pay-it-forward even though she couldn't attend the event itself. It was such an honour to hear her story, and to witness how she wanted to give to others out of her own experience.
We concluded the event with a sharing circle of kindness stories. I was moved to tears on so many occasions!
A lady shared that she worked in a prison and, whenever she got held up because of a problem she had to attend to and stayed very late, a compassionate inmate would give her his dinner.
A university student shared that she was nursed back to health by her new housemates, parents shared how their children dropped everything to give their dad a hug when he comes home from work, and others shared stories of how a simple smile from a stranger on the tube can make their day.
I was really moved that everybody shared, and it was particularly beautiful to hear from the children and young people, too.
We all reflected on how it really is those little acts of kindness that go such a long way.
Kindness really is our collective superpower as humans!
With Smiles,
Vicky x
