- The Friendly Benchwaslaunched
inBottesford,Leicestershirein 2018 to
providea placeforthecommunitytogather
andtotacklelonelinessamonglocals.But
communalseatingtobringpeopletogether
�lies in the face of socialdistancing– so
they’vegonedigitalinstead.OnSundayMay
3 a virtualFriendlyBenchisbeingheldvia
Zoom.Just get yourselfa tea or co�fee, log
onandjoinintheconversation.
@Friendly_Bench - Thought lockdown meantmost
sportslessonswere o�f the cards?Think
again.In Glasgow,WesternTennisClub in
Hyndlandisteachingthegametomore
thana dozenyoungpeoplewhiletheystay
safeintheirownhomes.Usingvideocall
technology,they’rehelpingtheplayersset
up with minimalequipment– in manycases
justa racket,a ballanda solidwall. - Volunteers in West Yorkshire
arepoolingtheirskillstosewscrubsfor
GPsintheareawhiletheyawaitgarments
from local hospitals.The Ilkleygroupsends
outpatterntemplatesforanyonewho
wantstopitchintoproducethescrubs
fromhome.Mostofthevolunteershave
beenfurloughedfromtheirjobsorare
self-isolatingelderlypeople,andtheyhave
already sent out scrubs for dozens of people.
Weknowtherewillbemany,manymore
peopledoingthebesttheycantohelp
othersatthistimeofcrisis.Tellusaboutyour
Covid-19crusaders:[email protected]
@BigIssue or at facebook.com/bigissueuk- Birmingham City Labour
councillorNickyBrennanisspearheading
aninitiativegettingbabysuppliestoin-need
parentsstrugglingtostaystockedupduring
the Covid-19crisis.Withdozensof locals
havingsigneduptovolunteer,donations
arebeingmadetothecouncillor’shome
andarethenbeingdeliveredaroundthecity
toisolatedparentswhodesperatelyneed
supplieslikenappiesandmilk.Scoresof
familieshave alreadybenefitted from the
scheme– whichleavesdeliveriessafelyon the
doorstep– and the public have donated more
than£1,700sofar. - Car dealership workersfrom
acrossthecountryaretakingpartinthe
#HaircutsforHeroescampaignbydonatingthe
usualcostof theirhaircutsto NHSCharities
Together.Most of uswillcomeoutof thiswith
our’doslookingprettyworseforwear,whether
or notwe chooseto tackleour mopsourselves –
mightaswellmakesomegoodfromit. - East Sussex authorandgraphic
designerEddieAllenishandingovermoney
earnedfromhisnewnovelFallingto The Big
Issueaswesupportourvendorswhilethey’re
temporarilyunableto sell on the streets.The
bookisabouta 16-year-oldboywhoseonce-
happylifecrumbles,leadingtohimrunning
awayand findinghimselfhomelessin London.
Heisaskinganyonewhomayhaveboughtthe
booktodonatetohisBigIssuefundraiserand
lethimknowsohecanemailthemanebook
versionofthenovelinreturn.justgiving.com/
fundraising/falling-eddieallen- Exercise is as goodforyourmental
wellbeingasitisforyourphysicalhealth
and we all needto look a�ter ourselves
duringlockdown.Itmakessensethenthat
personaltrainerandarmyveteranMark
Tonnerhas joinedforceswith mental
healthcharityIf U Care ShareFoundationin
CountyDurhamto raise cash throughhome
workouts.Forjust£1anyoneofanyability
cangetinvolvedintheat-hometraining
Tonneris o�feringthroughhis website.
Allproceedswillgotothecharityto
supporttheir e�fortsboostinggoodmental
healthincommunitiesand working on
suicideprevention. - Former prisonerand Cell Workout
pioneerLJFlandershassmashedhis£10,000
crowdfundinggoaltocreatea ‘MadeinHMP’
clothingbrandduringtheCovid-19crisis.He’s
gettingtheballrollingto o�fer womenserving
timeatHMPDownviewthechanceto boost
theirskillsandearnanincomebymaking
theclothing.Flandersisbehinda bestselling
bookaboutexerciseshereliedontokeepin
shapewhileinhiscellandhasbeentraining
otherpeoplewithconvictionsthroughhis
socialenterpriseeversince.MadeinHMPisan
excitingdevelopmentfor thoseatDownview
ascoronavirusisparticularlyconcerningfor
peopleinprison–theclosequartersmean
thoseinsideareespeciallyvulnerable to the
quickly spreading virus. - Big Issue Changemakersand
homelessnesssocialenterpriseFatMacy’s
isdeliveringfruitandvegcoronaviruscare
packstoLondonerswhoneedit.Froma £15
smallvegboxtoa £55‘SorryI missedyour...’
hampercontaininga rangeoftreatslike
cheesebiscuits,browniesandgin,there’s
somethingforeveryone(andifyou’re
outsideLondontheteammightstillbeable
to accommodateyou).They’veteamedup
withothersocialenterprisestomakeeven
moregood-qualityandlocallyproduced
goodnessavailableto you, from co�fee to
bread,beersandteas. - The University of
Bedfordshire’sfootballteamisrunning
the distanceto Croatiaand back to raise
cash for frontlinehealthworkers.The squad
was due to tour Pula inCroatiathissummer,
butnow 38 currentandformerplayershave
organisedtocontributetothe2,302-milerun
and, withweeksle�tto go, have raisedmore
than£3,000.Keepupwiththeirprogress at
@bulls_run2croatiaon Instagram.- Internet accessand thefightagainst
digitalexclusionismoreimportantthanever
nowthatsomanyofusarerelyingonthe
internettolearn,work,stayintouchandkeep
entertainedthroughlockdown.CharityLive
Unlimited,inBarnetinLondon,isfundraising
to providepay-as-you-gowifidongles,loaded
withthreemonthsofdata,tocare-leaversin
self-isolation.This willhelpscoresof vulnerable
youngpeoplelikeBrenda(above)tostay
connectedtotheirfriendsandsocialworkersas
well asaccesscollegework online.The charity
initiallyseta targetof£4,500,butthankstothe
generouspublicithasraisedmorethan£7,200to
get vital internet access to those who need it.
- Internet accessand thefightagainst
- Exercise is as goodforyourmental
- 2018 Tour de Francewinner
andSportsPersonalityoftheYear
GeraintThomasrode 12-hourshi�tson
histurbotrainerinhisgarageinWales
forthreeconsecutivedaystomirror
typicalNHS hospitalshi�ts.The cyclist
smashedhis£100,000goaltoraisemore
than£366,000atthetimeofwritingfor
NHS CharitiesTogether,with donations
frommorethan14,000people.He
livestreamedeachsessionviaFacebook
andencouragedpeopletocyclealong
withhimathome.gofundme.com/f/
GsNHSZwi�tShi�ts
30 APRIL-06 MAY 2020 BIGISSUE.COM| 29