'Kindness Games' keep spirits up across Tameside

Dozens of acts of kindness were carried out by staff, volunteers and partners at a housing association project in Tameside, as part of a competition created for Mental Health Awareness Week last month.

Called 'The Kindness Games', the aim was for those taking part to complete as many acts of kindness as possible during the week, with each day given a different theme.

Monday, for example, was “Kind to those around you”, Tuesday was “Kind to the planet” and Friday “Kind to yourself”.

The competition was the idea of Heather Butterworth, who works as Volunteer Coordinator for Adullam Homes’ Unlocking Potential project in Tameside.

Heather created a comprehensive information pack for the games which included a list of suggested 'acts of kindness' for each day.

People were also invited to come up with ideas of their own. The acts all had a point value beside them, and they could be done as many times as people wanted to earn more points.

At the end of the week, Heather collated the points, having asked that where possible and appropriate people send her evidence such as a photo or message of what they had achieved.

In total 164 ‘acts of kindness’ were reported, including going out to feed the birds, writing a letter to elderly neighbours and creating ‘thank you key worker’ posters, but it is thought the games prompted many more.

As well as Adullam staff and service users, other organisations in the area, including Threshold and Tameside Local Studies and Archive Centre, also got involved.

Now that the evidence has been checked and the points added up, a staff and a service user winner have been named. Gemma Marland, Assessment Coordinator at the Tameside service, is the staff winner and Simon Wilde is the victorious service user.

Commenting on the Games, Gemma said: "We really enjoyed the Kindness Games, it was a great way to get friends and family involved. It helped us to take some time and appreciate the little things in life.

"It was timed perfectly with the current COVID19 situation and I feel it really helped keep our spirits up."

Simon has been given a supermarket voucher as his prize and Gemma received a “kindest person” certificate to mark her achievement.

Adullam’s North West Regional Manager Jenny Morgan said: "The games gave everyone something positive to take part in and were a fantastic opportunity to engage some of our service users.

"The games really do seem to have had a positive impact on people’s mental health – kindness has been medically proven to be good for you – and for service users taking part or being a recipient of an act of kindness has helped strengthen their social skills and sense of community."

‘Unlocking Potential’ provides residents who are at risk of social exclusion with the support and skills they need, through learning and development activities, to access and maintain independence and lead a fulfilling life.

Main image:

Service user winner, Simon Wilde, and the rainbow he drew as part of the games "Be kind to keyworkers"