THE HERALD has again been inundated with stories of kindness and community spirit this week in response to our #HelpingHand appeal.

A small selection of these have been included below, and please email your stories and photos to [email protected] for next week’s round-up.

* Seven-year-old Freya Pullen, a junior member of In2 Training CrossFit gym in Farnham, announced at dinner one evening last week that she wanted to raise some money for the NHS.

Selling something wasn’t a practical option, so mum Nicola challenged her to take part in the NHS Hero Work Out Day last Friday.

Hero Work Out Days are run on a regular basis by Crossfit gyms all over the country to pay tribute to fallen veterans from the military, fire service and police.

The latest lung-busting session took place online and specifically honoured those working for the NHS.

Freya joined the adult class, and her workout consisted of 12 rounds of ten push-ups, seven devils press, 19 weighted squats and 48 star jumps, which she completed in her garden.

Using the Just Giving platform, Freya raised £470 in just 48 hours – far exceeding her £100 goal.

Freya, who is also a Beaver with 11th Farnham Beavers and a pupil at William Cobbett Infant School, said afterwards: “That was great and I hope it will help the NHS people to fight coronavirus.”

And to the NHS staff, she added: “Thank you – you are all great.”

Email [email protected] to find out more about adult and children’s classes.

* “We have have been blown away by the generosity of Waitrose in Farnham,” said Jessica Wells, deputy manager at the Brightwells Gostrey Centre, “as they kindly donated enough Lindt bunnies to be delivered to each of our clients today – 54 in total – allowing us to bring them a little Easter cheer.

“We have also been overwhelmed by the offers of support from the community to help us deliver our meals during this really difficult time, and are extremely grateful to have a fantastic and dedicated team of drivers from all walks of life who have fast become part of the Brightwells family.”

* Joan Blacker, a resident at Huntington & Langham Estate care home in Hindhead, was able to celebrate her 100th birthday with her family on March 31 thanks to the wonders of modern technology.

Joan, who lived in Grayshott for 60 years before moving into the home, received calls from her extensive family (including 17 great grandchildren!) throughout the day via FaceTime – and also received dozens of cards, gifts and flowers, with all the home’s carers also signing a card for her.

* A Farnham woman is hosting free online cookery lessons for families every Saturday morning – and attracting viewers from as far away as San Francisco.

Steph Culham launched a small cookery school from home last year, teaching adults and children to cook.

On Saturday mornings she ran Saturday Kitchen where children came together to cook, socialise and make friends.

“Obviously that has all had to stop,” she said, “but I am keeping the community going by offering the classes for free.”

Find out more online at www.cookwithsteph.co.uk or facebook.com/cookwithstephfarnham/

* The University of Surrey is producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for its local NHS hospital to help in the battle against Covid-19.

In March, a team from Surrey’s Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences responded to a call to build 25 prototype visors and these were delivered to the Royal Surrey County Hospital for testing and approval.

The visors, which were manufactured using in-house 3D printers, have been working “incredibly well”, according to health officials from Royal Surrey County Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.

As a result, the hospital asked the university to scale up its production and around 400 will now be produced and delivered each week.

* Personal trainer Tom White, from Milford, has launched a live children’s workout ‘PE with Tom’ at 11am Monday to Friday through his Facebook page www.facebook.com/shape.shifter.585

He is now into his second week and has attracted more than 450 people each week, from the UK as well as Hawaii, Turkey, Thailand and California.

After his live workout, Tom also records a free adult 30-minute HIIT home workout which he has called ‘Covid-19 Resurgence series’.

* Residents at RMBI Care Co Home Shannon Court, in Hindhead, are sharing positive messages and advice with the local community in an effort to help boost morale and encourage kindness.

Among the residents taking part is Leslie Elliot, aged 86, whose message read: “Keep your head up, keep your heart strong.” He said: “It’s so important to keep a positive outlook at a time like this. And to spread a little kindness wherever you can.”

* Bramshott Grange Care Home in Liphook put out a call on Facebook last week for photos, letters, drawings and more to place on a ‘Roots of Friendship’ tree to keep residents connected with the community – and has been inundated with contributions, reminding them of life outside in the village.

As well as its usual programme of activities, the home has also introduced virtual tours of places such as museums, has streamed an opera and launched a ‘tallest sunflower’ competition.

* Specsavers in Alton has kept its doors open during the lockdown, to help with emergency eye treatments and take the pressure off the NHS.

GPs across Alton are now referring patients to the store, which is even delivering glasses and new hearing aid batteries to customers’ homes.

* In the absence of its Seedling Swap, the Alton Local Food Initiative (ALFI) will instead be putting out seedlings, including runner beans, that its members are growing, for residents to grow themselves and harvest later.

From Saturday, May 9, some seedlings will be put on the wall of the vicarage on Vicarage Hill, next to the Allen Gallery, and some at the station plot next to Alton station.

* Ibrahim at Elite Stitch tailors in Farnham has turned his hand to making face masks – and as a result of only couple of posts on Nextdoor and Facebook, has received more than ten orders from people in the town.

Ibrahim hopes the initiative will help prop up his business during the crisis, and will help those most at risk from the virus. Call Ibrahim on 07432 666070 to place an order.

* Thanks to a kind donation by Aldi, Alton Community Cupboard was able to give an Easter egg to all the children in the 62 self-isolating families it is currently supporting.

Before Easter, Waitrose in Alton also donated 50 treats bags for families.

Volunteers are delivering food parcels six days a week to homes, as well as a daily lunch box for Alton Community Hospital for NHS staff.

* Farnham-based songwriter Ron Roker has penned a song dedicated to NHS staff and other essential workers in their efforts to keep us all safe and well.

The song is sung by Emily West, and a music video can be viewed online at https://youtu.be/HqLyJecUwUc

* Farnham charity Change of Scene, offering positive experiences for children struggling in mainstream school, launched a fundraising campaign on Facebook and with Virgin Giving last week to help feed its animals while the children aren’t at the farm.

“We’re asking supporters to sponsor one of our animals for a month or three months and we’ve been really overwhelmed by the response. Over £500 has been raised so far and the sponsorships are still coming in,” said Pam Robinson, chief executive officer. “If anyone wants to help keep Change of Scene going so our provision can continue for the young people who will desperately need us, please email [email protected] if you can help or use the ‘donate’ button on our website www.changeofscene.org.uk”

* “My staff have been amazing and keeping in touch with their class via Facebook on a daily basis,” said Jayne Broach, headteacher at Alton Infant School.

“Parents are wonderfully supportive and pupils are fully engaged with their teachers. I can’t thank them enough.”

* Alton Lions have welcomed the initiative by Lions Club Foundation of the British Isles (LCF) in putting up a £100,000 fund to support work in communities as they battle to combat the Covid-19 crisis.

And it is looking at projects which could attract support from the LCF fund.

Like Lions across the country, individual members are already doing what they can to support friends, neighbours and the wider community. But many are themselves in the vulnerable category, or caring for relatives who are, so an organisation like Alton Lions is limited in what it can do while maintaining government guidelines.

But Alton Lions has already been able to support those flagged up as struggling with fuel issues, through its winter fuel initiative, supported on an annual basis by the Herald and administered through Citizens Advice. And the club remains open to requests for support from families and individuals.

While, like others, Alton Lions has been forced to cancel or postpone events such as the Alton ten-mile road race and June’s Party in the Park – all rescheduled for the same time next year – it is still looking forward to reviving the monthly craft markets in the town and taking an active part in events later in the year.

If possible, the plan is to hold an impromptu event in the late summer/early autumn to help local community and charitable organisations to regain a bit of ground in their fundraising pursuits and, above all, provide a joyful occasion to lift the spirits.

Alton Lions can be contacted on 01420 89218 or email [email protected]

Neighbouring club the Farnham Lions are also doing their bit, and in partnership with Farnham Town Council have taken on marshalling duties at Farnham Hospital following the launch of a new outdoor coronavirus assessment area.

The LCF fund has been set up to help Lions clubs offer direct help to individuals and those who provide a vital community service, such as food banks.