Make it Matter & Making a difference Locally

You may already know that I have been working with Marks and Spencer on their Make It Matter campaign and I recently wrote about the small things that make the days matter to me and my family. I truly believe that happiness and worth comes from our actions we do for ourselves and others and rarely from material objects we own and as a collective people can do amazing things for one another.

 I was recently invited to see this in action last week as a group of store workers volunteered their time to bringing an otherwise empty yard at a homeless shelter in Merthyr, one of the most deprived areas of South Wales, into a space for the residents to relax, unwind, open up as well as socialise by bringing in colourful plants, re-painting, redecorating and providing garden furniture and flower beds.

While I was there I had the chance to talk to on of the social workers who described how excited she was to finally have a useable outdoor space not only for the residents but also for the staff so they too had somewhere to relax and enjoy this summer but also to have a more open space to help connect the residents and provide a safe and friendly space for all. 

This is all apart of a commitment M&S has made called Plan A in which they will support 1000 communities to help 10 million people to live happier healthier lives as well as convert M&S into a zero-waste business. From transforming playgrounds to holding events and working with charities to help tackle poverty, loneliness, mental health and wellbeing this is all fantastic news and it was a pleasure to see it first hand.

By working together these volunteers turned a dull uninspired space into something that is going to be very useful for people who need it most and I think we need to see a lot more acts of kindness like this because in just one day they made a big difference which shows if you are happy to get stuck in you can do amazing things for others.

M&S have more planned for the area as well as many other parts of the UK including supporting children starting school by donating 10,000 pairs of plimsolls. Providing careers advice and work experience for school leavers, hosting Frazzled Cafes for those feeling stressed, supporting start-up commits businesses and investing in outdoor spaces that everyone can enjoy among many other exciting initiatives.

It was wonderful seeing something like this come to an area of Wales that is often overlooked. There was a great camaraderie among the volunteers and a I am so glad to have had the opportunity to be apart of it. It also gave me a chance to meet some of the residents of the hostel who were really excited about the project and we also getting involved. After a fairly up and down week with the elections this was a very positive homegrown change and I can't wait to see more of these project roll out over the next few years.

Thanks to Marks and Spencer for inviting me to be apart of the Make it Matter and Spend it Well campaign.