IT may feel we are in a never ending stream of bad news at the moment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But the pandemic has brought out the best in our communities.

Here we are highlighting some of the incredible things you have been doing to get us through this tough time.

Spread the love for NHS

A TEACHER has called on the help of her talented students to launch a fundraising drive for the dedicated NHS staff who are working flat out due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Abbey Freeman, who is head of events operations at Thurstable School in Tiptree, is raising money to support nurses, doctors and paramedics by collecting cash for an NHS charity.

To boost the campaign, she is asking her event operation students to get involved and use the skills they’ve learnt in classes to help promote the fundraiser on social media.

Mrs Freeman said:“So many nurses and doctors are struggling right now dealing with terrible things they will never forget.

“As we go to sleep they don’t, as we rest and self-isolate they don’t. Every day walking into work thinking ‘What if I catch this today’.”

Mrs Freeman has set up a JustGiving page for donations and has so far collected £300.

Once it has been collected, the cash will be donated to staff via an NHS charity which is also being supported by Newsquest, publishers of the Gazette.

Mrs Freeman said Donate at justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/thankyounhs.

Donations for families

YOUNGSTERS helped fill a trolley with food for Harwich Foodbank.

Harwich Community Primary School decided to support the foodbank during the coronavirus crisis.

The school’s mascot Attendance Ted was handed the food by children which he put in his trolley.

The trolley, filled to the brim, was then given to the foodbank for families in need.

Attendance officer Gillian Day organised the event and said she is proud everyone pulled together to make this a huge success.

Getting NHS to work

A SERVICE centre will continue to fix the vehicles of key workers.

David Green, owner of the Manningtree Tyre and Service Centre has decided to keep his garage open despite receiving “mixed reactions”.

He said: “We all want our key workers and NHS staff to be able to get to work.

“With unprecedented numbers of people volunteering to be NHS support Samaritans, it’s important to keep these people on the road delivering medicines and food parcels.”

Newsagents donate vital cash to hospices

NEWSAGENTS have donated vital cash to hospices in a bid to help them through the coronavirus pandemic.

The Easter Counties’ Southern Branch have pledged £18,000 which will be split between St Helena Hospice in Colchester, East Anglia’s Children Hospice (EACH) which helps youngsters across the region and St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich.

The news comes after EACH and St Helena Hospice both launched urgent appeals to help them replace money they will lose out on because of cancelled events. They have also been forced to shut their shops.

The misery was compounded for St Helena Hospice volunteers and staff after their store in Magdalen Street, Colchester, was burgled last week.

Village’s thanks to rubbish collectors

BIN men were pleasantly surprised when collecting this week’s rubbish as residents attached thank you notes to their bins.

In Little Bentley many residents have left thank you notes with flowers on their bin bags with cakes and beer as a small mark of appreciation.

Nigel Dyson, of Little Bentley, said they wanted to express their gratitude to Tendring Council and Veolia staff.

He added: “Could we please pass a big thank you to all at Tendring Council and Veolia during these very difficult times, as you are all doing such a magnificent job.

“Your whole team does a wonderful job and I know all our residents want to thank them all.

“Keep safe and well.”

Helping hand during crisis

A HELPLINE has been launched to support a community during the coronavirus outbreak.

Harwich Helps is an official helpline residents from Harwich and its surrounding villages can use to ask for support during these difficult times.

The churches of the Harwich Peninsula, Harwich Town Council, Tendring Council, Harwich Connexions, Harwich Homestart, and Harwich Foodbank are all offering support to residents.

Harwich county councillor Ivan Henderson and Essex Fire Service community builder Les Nicoll and many other community groups are also giving out olive branches to those in need.

The hotline is for residents who need someone to talk to, need practical help or have been affected by Covid-19.

Mr Henderson said he could not be more proud of how everyone has come together.

He said: “It’s amazing and the scheme has been set up particularly quickly.

“During these hard times when people are suffering with financial hardship we are trying to be there for them.”

The helpline numbers to call are 07708 124661, 07716 866927 and 01255 554115.

Bags of help during times of crisis

COMMUNITY groups in need of support throughout the coronavirus pandemic could be in line for a £500 grant.

Tesco has unveiled a £30 million package of support.

The initiative will see the supermarket chain provide an additional £15 million worth of food to charities FareShare and the Trussell Trust, on top of a £1 million cash donation split between the two organisations.

The company will also donate £2 million to the British Red Cross, to assist with the extra costs the charity faces.

Its Bags of Help scheme aims to support as many community groups as possible across the country with grants of £500, including women’s refuges, foodbanks, hospices and homeless charities.

Groups interested in applying can visit tescobagsofhelp.org.uk.