A Celebration Of Kindness Throughout The Centuries

What is charity? It is an act of kindness, thoughtfulness, to help someone in need, to make the world a better place. It does not always have to involve a donation. As you wander down the street you may never know what charitable works are occurring around us. A smile to a stranger may make their day and give them a sense of self worth, even though you may not feel like smiling. Letting someone ahead of us in a queue, could mean they're not late for a shift. My husband used to accept his right to have a meal at work so he could pass it on to one of the many homeless people living on the streets.

I visited a park in Sheffield recently with Sophia and was struck by two acts of charity which have enveloped the park. One had occurred over a century ago and was epitomised by a memorial statue. Sophia stood looking up at it and asked me who it was and why there was a statue named Elliot in the park. I must admit to my ignorance here and said merely that he was a poet, which she accepted and we could have left it at that. However the history board caught my eye and I read it to her. It transpires this gentleman was a great influencer and had left his mark on the city of Sheffield in a wonderful charitable act.

Ebenezer Elliott lived between 1781-1848 and was a political person of influence who used his position as a factory owner and his writing as a platform to fight against the Corn Law, which he personally found abhorrent, as it was causing starvation amongst the poor classes of society. He fought for the underdog and became their voice, for he could relate to financial hardships as he had previously suffered bankruptcy. He was to become known as the Corn Law Rhymer, and was disliked amongst his peers as he formed a society in 1830 called the Sheffield Mechanics Anti-bread tax society. In 1834 he formed the Sheffield Anti Corn Law Society and the Sheffield Mechanics Institute, and was an active member of the Sheffield Political Union.

Sophia listened as I told her of the kind man who helped those worse off than him by asking the people in power not to make bread so expensive so that the poor could not afford what should have been a basic affordable staple, causing them to be hungry. She was amazed that there existed a time where bread was too expensive. She soon became engrossed however in the beautiful surroundings of the park and took off running off with other children to chase the pigeons over the bridges and grass. I had a workout keeping up with her, whilst Grannie kept a grumpy Xander content by getting her steps in, pushing him round the park in our two hour break from hospital appointments. Sophia loved being amongst the colourful flower beds and trees and seeing the ducks in the ponds.

Sophia then was gravitated towards a modern charitable organisation which is being represented within the park. The bears of Sheffield is a fun, imaginative endeavour by the Children’s Hospital Charity, targeting families with young    children. The cause is to raise money for the improvement of Sheffield Children’s Hospital which has been responsible for saving thousands of young lives including Xanders life over these past couple of years. Local children and students have created and decorated 100 little bears, whilst local artists have created 60 large bears and they have been strategically placed around the city and a walk formed to encourage families to seek out these bears. Once you have found your favourite bear you can make a donation for them via the website, you can buy merchandise and bear trail maps, or create your own fundraising activities. To date the amount raised by the bears is £3714.50.

Sophia absolutely loved spotting the bears in the park and she waited in line behind other little boys and girls who were waiting to have their picture taken alongside these majestic pieces of art. She hugged them and said thank you to them when I explained they were made to help raise money for her hospital.

Xander has enjoyed spotting the little bears inside the hospitals as we travel along the different departments, wards and corridors. He was playing with a little girl one day taking it in turns calling out the colours and features of the bear who was hiding outside of the eye department.

It was lovely to experience these two charitable acts separated by over a century, but still represented within this city park, showing that whilst life moves on and the Sheffield of today will be vastly different from Elliott’s Sheffield, people’s hearts and good will toward the unfortunate do not change. There are always people willing to make a difference and change their city for the better. Sophia learnt a lovely lesson in kindness, made even more poignant as the bears are for our local Children’s hospital which has been out second home for the past half a decade.