To help celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, Love Your Streets is setting our nation a challenge. Can we see 1 million acts of niceness take place and talked about on social media networks in one day?
#1Day1MillionNiceThings is aiming to do just that! On Bank Holiday Tuesday, 5th June, people are encouraged to do something nice, that they wouldn't normally do, for someone else. Ideas range from calling in on a neighbour, saying thank you to those who serve you in a shop or on a bus, taking unwanted clothes or items to a charity shop, becoming the nicest driver you have ever known, taking someone you hardly know out for a meal, calling customer service of your utility company and thank them for the work they do!
People are then encouraged to Tweet or Facebook the Nice Thing (using #1Day1MillionNiceThings as an identity tag), partly as an encouragement to others to join in and partly to celebrate the good in people.
Speaking on the day, Paul Blakey MBE, founder of Street Angels - CNI Network, one of the initiatives leading on Love Your Streets, commented, "Just think how amazing it would be if 1 million acts of niceness were to happen in 1 day. Just 5 minutes of your time on the Bank Holiday Tuesday could make a massive difference to other people and would help make our nation a much nicer place to be! Lets get to it..."
More information can be found at www.loveyourstreets.org.uk and on Facebook and Twitter.
by Asha Kurien - source
“I see week in and week out the difference people who care can make within the wider community - we need more of it!”
- Paul Blakey MBE, founder of Street Angels If you found yourself tweeting away vigorously last year using the hash tags #riotcleanup and #prayforlondon or nodding energetically as soon as you read the quote above, you will be encouraged to learn about the #Do1NiceThing campaign. Launched recently by the Street Angels-CNI (Christian Nightlife Initiatives) Network in collaboration with HOPE, #Do1NiceThing is a vital part of their Love your Streets campaign for 2012. CNI envisions this project to inspire people to love their communities through acts of kindness, doing "one nice thing" each day. The inspiration for this campaign came from a programme on Channel 4 on the London Underground in which an underground staff said that very rarely did people say positive things or thank them for the work they do but when they did it, it made such a difference. Watching the programme, Paul Blakey was challenged to realise that we now live in a fast paced culture where we are too busy on our mobiles and miss the common courtesy of simply saying thank you to those who serve us. The Love Your Streets website chronicles numerous ideas that can make a positive impact on people around us. They range from simple acts of kindness such as the exchange of a smile, saying hello to a shop assistant and thanking the postman; to more daring ones such as: Healing On The Streets - Inspired by people from local churches in Northern Ireland who put up banners in their towns with the word "healing" on them, and waited underneath to express God's love to those who needed someone to talk to and pray with. Participants testified that their teams have now become part of the streetscape, with people traveling from as far as a hundred miles to receive healing from God. Visit www.out-there.org for more details. Random Acts of Kindness – Get motivated by projects like The Kindness Offensive, Random Acts of Kindness Foundation or even Danny Wallace's humourous book Random Acts of Kindness that include suggestions such as surprising the pizza delivery man by offering him a slice of your pizza and phoning someone at a call centre to tell them they are doing a good job. Neighbourhood Watch – you can join or set up a neighbourhood watch scheme to improve the safety of your neighbourhood on www.mynhw.co.uk . The #Do1NiceThing campaign coincides with 'A Year of Service', a government initiative that hopes to bring to light the voluntary service that faith groups carry out in their communities. The campaign has inspired churches to organise clean-up days, volunteer with community projects and get involved in the Big Lunch initiative. Additionally, the campaigners aim to support Brian McCarthy from the Christian Police Association who had a vision for 1 million acts of kindness across the UK in a day and they have set the challenge as part of The Queen's Jubilee Weekend on Friday, 1 June, to #1day1millionnicethings, encouraging people to tweet and facebook what they do. The Bible verse that most inspires CNI is the parable of the sheep and the goats in which Jesus said that on the day of the final judgment, he will say to the sheep: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me." (Matthew 25:34-36) For further ideas on how you can serve your community, visit www.loveyourstreets.org.uk or follow @loveyourstreets on Twitter.
#Do1NiceThingPress Release from Street Angels - CNI Network
Monday 12th February 2012
Immediate UseThe network who support over 100 Street Angel and night time economy projects across the UK are encouraging people to #Do1NiceThing as part of their Love Your Streets campaign for 2012. This campaign is being launched to tie in with Valentines Day. Street Angels - Christian Nightlife Initiatives Network, in partnership with HOPE launched Love Your Streets on the Sunday before Valentines Day 2011 as part of their Weekend of Love in Beeston, Nottingham. The results which have seen include hundreds of people mobilised to make a difference within the local community through clear-up days, litter collecting and acts of kindness. This new campaign for 2012 is calling on people to do one nice thing for someone else every day in 2012. Ideas are limitless and include smiling and saying hello to people, thanking those who serve you in some way, calling in on an elderly neighbour, volunteering or organising a community idea such as Big Lunch or a neighbourhood clean-up. The Campaign links with a Government initiative launched earlier this year by the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles called 'A Year of Service' which is encouraging faith groups to take a lead in offering service their locality. Paul Blakey MBE, Founder of Street Angels - CNI Network, said of the campaign "Last year we saw communities coming together to bring love and joy to the wider community from giving out hot cross buns at Easter to clearing a neighbourhood of all its rubbish. This year we are encouraging people to do one nice thing for others every day of 2012. I see week in and week out the difference people who care can make within the wider community - we need more of it!" Adam May, Director of Development for Street Angels - CNI Network echoed this by saying "This week, lovers up and down the country will be sharing gifts for those they care about, but this year the Street Angels - CNI Network is calling us to think beyond ourselves and those we naturally care about. This year, we are calling for a re-discovering of community love. The challenge is what one nice thing can you do for your community; it doesn't have to be big, it just needs to show love. This will make the difference, so do it today!" For more information and ideas you can visit www.loveyourstreets.org.uk and also join in spreading news of your nice things on Facebook and Twitter.
My wonderful wife treated me to a one night stay at a five star spa resort in the Yorkshire Dales as a Christmas present! Five star is totally different to the Travelodge where we generally stay! The concierge greets you at the door - takes your bags and gives you a tour of the hotel. Whisky is waiting for you in your room, the meal consists of fine food caught fresh that day on the estate preceded by a glass of champagne, your bed is turned down whilst you are enjoying your evening meal, an hours exclusive use of the spa is included in your stay and you are invited to walk the grounds, see the birds of prey and deer. In short an amazing 24 hours! God wants us to have a five star life! God said to Jeremiah - and surely to us today - “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." What makes a hotel five star for me is the attitude and ethos of the staff and company and the willingness to serve others. God sent his son Jesus to prove his love for you and me. Jesus came with an attitude of love, hope, forgiveness, restoration and wanting to take those battered and bruised by life to turn there lives into five star lives for a five star God. Jesus also came to serve - he didn't need to prove who he was or who God was through force but through serving. God has a five star life for you - he has a five star plan that only you can fulfil! But this five star life isn't just for the religious - it isn't just for those in church on a Sunday - God has a five star life for every single person he created. His message today to those battered, those bruised, those who have messed up is hope and future...He invites you to be part of that... How can you help bring five star moments to others? To the addict, the lonely, the hurt, the poor, the marginalised, the confused, your neighbour, your family, your friends? God is looking to you to partner with him to have a Jesus attitude and a willingness to serve others - to bring a five star life to those God has created... A New Year challenge indeed. As part of Street Angels - CNI Network we run www.loveyourstreets.org.uk - look there and be inspired and bring five star to those around you...
Only 17% of Brits would invite a neighbour to dinner if they had food going spare, says surveyCelebrity chef Gary Rhodes backs Fair Feast to bring people together on Pancake Day Only one in six people (17%) would invite a neighbour for dinner if they had food going spare, according to research conducted for the Methodist Church by YouGov. The survey found that if people had a spare place for dinner 56 per cent would invite a friend, 18 per cent a work colleague and only 17 per cent a neighbour. A quarter (25%) of those asked said they wouldn’t invite anyone. The survey also found that 18 – 24 year olds were more likely to invite a neighbour (20% vs. 17% overall) or friend (78% vs. 56%), as were those who live in the East of England (20% vs. 17% and 60% vs. 56% respectively). Women were slightly more likely to invite a friend than men (58 per cent compared to 54 per cent), but slightly less likely to invite a neighbour (16% vs. 18%) or colleague (17% vs. 19%). “Sharing a meal together is a key part of community,” said Revd Dr Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church. “We know people are incredibly busy, and that it can be harder to connect with our neighbours and local communities these days, but I hope that we can all find ways to spend more time with friends and neighbours. It is too easy to see these results as a sign that society has lost its sense of community, but I believe people want to share hospitality and sometimes all they need is an excuse to get together.” Pancake Day, also known as Mardi Gras or Shrove Tuesday, has been a traditional time of feasting since medieval times. Marking the start of Lent for Christians, it can also be a time of general celebration. This year it falls in Fairtrade Fortnight, so the Methodist Relief and Development Fund is encouraging people to hold a Fair Feast – celebrating Pancake Day with Fairtrade ingredients. There is also the chance to take part in the Big Bible project, an online digital community promoting regular Bible reading, during Lent. The Big Bible project is launching this year’s Big Read with Tom Wright's Lent for Everyone: Matthew. MRDF has a savoury pancake recipe from Gary Rhodes, and the BBC is offering a variety of Pancake Day recipes from Delia Smith and other chefs. Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes said: “I’m delighted to be a part of this campaign. It’s a fantastic opportunity to get together with friends and neighbours but with the satisfaction of knowing that the money raised will be used to help people make their own living and fight hunger themselves.” Dr Martyn Atkins added: “I hope that people will take advantage of the tradition of feasting and celebration on Shrove Tuesday to reach out to others. I know that during the current downturn many people will choose to save spare food to stretch their budget, but time spent sharing meals together is a powerful way to build our communities and enrich our lives.”
'ANGELS AND LOVE COME TO BEESTON THIS VALENTINES'
To conclude the Weekend of Love which has been taking place this weekend, Love Your Streets has been launched in conjunction with Hope Together. This initiative focuses on encouraging people to take responsibility for the community; Love Your Streets is a grass roots movement hoping to reinvent the good old fashioned community spirit!
As part of the United NG9 Event in Beeston, Love Your Street was launched yesterday, Sunday 13th February. 300 people gathering at the Pearson Centre to hear Roy Crowne, the Executive Director of Hope Together urge Christian people to get involved in the Love Your Street initiatives by joining in through words and action and by doing it together. The United Hope event also saw the public birth of the new Street Angels project to Beeston, led by Hope Nottingham, which will be launched in March. As part of yesterday’s event, a cheque for £300 was presented on behalf of Tesco Express, Beeston to contribute towards the equipment needed for the Street Angels Project.
Roy Crowne, who is a supporter of Street Angels will be going out as a Street Angels in Beeston, alongside Paul Blakey MBE, Founder of Street Angels on their launch night which take place on Friday 11th March from 9.00pm – 12midnight. This will be preceded by a service of Commissioning at 7.30pm for the new volunteers who will be taking up this work. Venue to be announced.
Speaking after the launch, Adam May, the National Director of Development for CNI said
I was delighted to share in the NG9 event this weekend which was a major encouragement for the work of Hope Nottingham. With the start of Beeston Street Angels and celebrating the launch of Love Your Streets, this is true demonstration of the Gospel of love in action. As lovers up and down the land show their love for one another, the challenge is not to lose sight of the need of the wider love of the community which is needed.
Mayor of Boxtowne, Pat Lalley, has shown his own personal support for Beeston Street Angels:
I am delighted that Beeston Street Angels will be a welcome addition to our area, in our attempt to improve community safety. The plans of Hope Nottingham to develop patrols of volunteers to be 'on our streets' each weekend will hopefully bring community and sense. I wholeheartedly endorse their work and look forward to seeing what can be achieved in Beeston in the first twelve months. I hope that, from March when they start they will be a familiar presence in our area. Good luck and thank you Street Angels!
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Hey - great stuff - we are getting even more famous!!! We are featured on the Churches Together in England web site and in the Halifax Courier and on Evangelism Today ... As great as all this media coverage is the heart of Love Your Streets is people like you and me going out and doing something warm and nice for someone else... Halifax Street Angels giving out Love Hearts, students handing out bottles of water to clubbers in Sheffield, someone picking up rubbish to make the street a nice place - this is what Love Your Streets is all about!
Across the country, old and young alike will be taking up the challenge this Valentines week to love their Streets. The concept is an initiative of Christian Nightlife Initiatives Network, HOPE Together and Halifax Street Angels in partnership with a range of other agencies. Love Your Streets is focused around taking responsibility for the community; caring for your neighbours, picking up litter, smiling at someone, saying hello or by getting involved in more organised stuff such as Neighbourhood Watch, Street Angels or feeding the homeless. The idea is to encourage good old fashioned community spirit! Love Your Street will be launched at the United Hope event at the Pearson Centre in Beeston, Nottingham on Sunday 13th February. The speaker for the United Hope event will be Roy Crowne, the Executive Director of Hope Together who will be urging people to get involved in the Love Your Street initiatives by joining in through words and action. The United Hope event also sees the birth of the new Street Angels project to Beeston which will be launched in March. Roy Crowne will be pledging to put his money where his mouth is and will be going out as a Street Angels in Beeston, alongside Paul Blakey MBE, Founder of Street Angels on their launch night, Friday 11th March. People up and down the country are also encouraged to take part in the launch of this exciting initiative during the weekend by carrying out random acts of love towards others in their community. Love Your Streets is not just for those of faith but for everyone. The call this Valentines weekend is to think how warm you feel inside when someone says hello or smiles or does something nice for you - Love Your Streets encourages you to help someone else feel warm and loved and wanted through your actions! Speaking before the launch, Adam May, the National Director of Development for CNI said "Love your streets is an exciting initiative to promote that lacking sense of community spirit up and down the land. The call in our time is now to respond and I would urge and encourage everyone alike to buy into this initiative. The Big Society is all about community engagement but this calls us to simply love, love, love. Let's keep loving your streets today, tomorrow and forever. I am delighted to be part of making this initiative happen and look forward to seeing the stories which will unfold as a result of this. All we need is love!" This was supported by Paul Blakey MBE, Founder of Street Angels who went on to say: “Love Your Streets happens day in and day out in communities across our nation. People volunteer time, resources, talent and energy to make a difference in the lives of others and society as a whole. This concept is to encourage more people to think of others! I see weekly firsthand the difference people make - be part of those who 'Love Your Streets' as a way of life...” Further details can be found online at www.loveyourstreets.org.uk or by searching on Facebook and Twitter.
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