A new website has been launched in a bid to say thank you after the popular ‘clap for carers’ initiative drew to a close.
The new “Suffolk Says Thank You” website, which launched last week, aims to create a “gallery of thanks” – a collage of people saying thank you to members of their community who have continued to work since lockdown was enforced.
Posters, social media graphics and letter templates can all be downloaded for free from the website, with visitors asked to place artwork in their windows or post a letter to those who have lent them a hand.
It comes following the popular “rainbow trail” seen in towns and villages across the county and beyond, while the “clap for carers” initiative on Thursdays also proved popular during the first two months of lockdown.
The Suffolk Resilience Forum worked alongside local councils, charities and community groups to create the website under the banner of the “Emotional Wellbeing in the Community” group.
Gemma Levi, chair of the group, said: “As a nation we’ve been great at thanking others and seen the positive impact it’s had on our key workers and in the streets. We now want to acknowledge the small acts of kindness and Suffolk Says Thanks gives people the materials and inspiration to thank those in their local community.
“Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that demonstrating an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in wellbeing.
“The act of giving is one of the ‘five ways to wellbeing’, which is an established framework setting out simple steps for improving day to day mental health.”
The website has seen praise by partners Suffolk Mind, who are calling on the community to carry out small acts of kindness.
Jon Neal, CEO of Suffolk Mind said: “In our research carried out to rate how well the community of Suffolk is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, we found that 43% of people are not meeting their emotional need for status. This means they don’t feel valued or appreciated for the contribution they are making to the world.
“Status is important for good mental health, and so we wanted to join the #SuffolkSaysThanks campaign to encourage people to recognise the small acts of kindness in their lives – however large or small.
“This campaign is all about thanking those who don’t often get thanked.”
The website can be found here.
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