huffingtonpost - 11 days ago

!function(n){if(!window.cnx){window.cnx={},window.cnx.cmd=[];var t=n.createElement( iframe );t.display= none ,t.onload=function(){var n=t.contentWindow.document,c=n.createElement( script );c.src= //cd.connatix.com/connatix.player.js ,c.setAttribute( async , 1 ),c.setAttribute( type , text/javascript ),n.body.appendChild(c)},n.head.appendChild(t)}}(document);(new Image()).src = https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb ;cnx.cmd.push(function(){cnx({ playerId : 8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb , mediaId : 1726f36c-1515-4312-837c-8e892f0ccbf8 }).render( 692db55de4b0c8c3c7ce6cd0 );});This December, we’re championing kindness in all its forms through HuffPost UK’s Kindness Advent Calendar. Check back daily (until 24 December) for new stories focusing on how individuals and communities are going above and beyond to help others in their times of need.A decade ago, Lynne Misner found herself sitting in her freezing cold home on one of the coldest days of the year – her boiler had broken and she simply couldn’t get warm. She came upon an article about the many older people spending each winter, often alone, living in freezing cold conditions, due to being unable to afford to heat their homes.Cold homes have been linked to poorer health outcomes in elderly people. Risks include raised blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks,falls, and poor mental health.Yet according to Age UK, almost half (48%) of people aged 60 and over are worried about their ability to heat their home – and 45% are similarly worried about paying their bills.Wanting to do her bit to help, in January 2015, Lynne and a team of friends put together the very first ‘Warm in Winter’ gift bags, filled with essential items to “help to heat the person, when they are struggling to afford to heat their home”.Lynne MisnerThe bags were distributed to older people who had been identified as vulnerable in Watford. From those first 50 bags, her charity – appropriately named Small Acts of Kindness – has grown to source, pack and distribute over 15,000 gift bags a year with the help of 450 volunteers.To date, over 105,000 people have experienced this ‘small’ act of kindness, feeling cared for, less lonely and warmer in their homes. “Receiving the bag was most unexpected but was gratefully received, it gave a boost that you are not forgotten,” said one recipient. “Often one feels at a certain age we are non-existent or just a number. So thank you to the person who filled my bag.”Another recipient described the bag as “an unexpected kind gesture that has brought me a moment of great happiness”, while another elderly receiver described it as “a light in the darkness of bad news”.A recipient beams as she holds a free Warm in Winter gift bag.Every free gift bag includes a fleece blanket, thermal hat, gloves, socks, a hot drinks pack, porridge, soup sachets, a Small Acts of Kindness Activity Book, pen and a Purple Pages information pack. The latter contains literature signposting people to vital support and help in their local area, all with a contact telephone number.Not only do the bags helped to warm their recipients, but they’re also helping to tackle loneliness in the community, as people feel cared for as a recipient of an act of kindness.Anyone over the age of 50 can request a bag for themselves, or local organisations can put people forward. The charity said it hears from many elderly people who are keeping their heating off and cutting back on food items over the winter that many consider essential.One elderly recipient shared how they had lost their heating allowance and spent much of the winter freezing cold. “The bag is the kindest thing I have ever had,” they said. “The gift will make such a difference.“I was frightened to turn on the heating because of the cost and I was cold. I will use everything in the bag and I know that I now won’t be so cold next winter.“It’s not a small act of kindness, it’s a huge act of kindness that will keep me warm over the winter months.”To help support the charity this winter, you can make a donation here. Got a kindness story to share? Please email uklife@huffpost.com with more information.Related...Our Kindness Advent Calendar s A Reminder Loveliness Is All AroundThe Sweet History Behind World Kindness DayInside The Baby Banks Quietly Holding Britain s Families Together

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