A Bury St Edmunds woman’s gifting Facebook page is brightening people’s lives up and down the country during the coronavirus lockdown.
Emma Ashworth, 31, launched ‘Gift it Forward’ followed by a heart symbol about four weeks ago and “never thought in a million years” it would become the success it has, with more than 4,000 members.
She had seen it done before and thought ‘I could do that’, but little did she know it would gain so much momentum.
MORE: Fishermen’s friends and a 100th birthday card for a fundraising hero – good deeds from across the region during the coronavirus crisis“It’s just unbelievable and it’s keeping me very busy,” she said.
Members of the private group create an Amazon wish list and post it on the page, before people then pick something to gift.
Some people choose to leave a note, but others do it as a complete surprise.
Emma said: “A lot of people on there are doing it to gift rather than to receive, which is the whole reason why I did it in the first place.”
She says on the group: “I just thought this would be nice for us all! We are going through seriously hard times at the moment and a little parcel it be small or big will brighten anyone’s day!”
Emma recently announced a gifting post to show appreciation for key workers and already has more than 250 Amazon wish lists in the comments.
And her ‘thank you’ post on April 13, where people say thank you when they receive a gift, has more than 3,500 comments.
MORE: Coronavirus: Government job retention scheme ‘working well’ despite staggering numbers of applicants, say expertsEmma was recently made redundant from her role as a HR coordinator, but not as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
She said: “I am on my phone from the moment I get up to when I go to sleep doing my page.
“It’s really, really helped me through the whole thing. After being made redundant I wouldn’t have had anything to do.
“It’s really helped keep me focused. I went through a bit of an anxious time (related to the current crisis) before I did the page.”
She added: “That’s what I had hoped to do – help other people too.”
Emma, who lives with her husband and dog, said the group had also become a “really good place to come and talk”.
For the Gift it Forward page see here. Emma also runs games on the page.
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