A team based at its branch on High Street handed out over 300 cups of soup.
Annan
Annan
Cumberland marks World Kindness Day in Kendal
Hundreds of people in Kendal enjoyed free lunchtime treat on Wednesday to mark World Kindness Day.
A team based at the Cumberland Building Society’s branch on Finkle Street handed out slices of iced ginger shortbread in the hope that recipients would pay it forward and pass on the kindness to others.
Volunteers also delivered 300 of the tasty treats to workers at nearby businesses and a further 300 went to Waste Into Wellbeing at the Eddington Centre in Highgate.
The initiative went down brilliantly with the members of the public passing the Cumberland’s branch.
Ian Clark said: “I love this – paying it forward. There’s not enough kindness in the world and it makes such a difference. It doesn’t cost anything to be kind, to hold a door open, smile, just be kind. You never know what a difference it’s going to make to someone’s day if you show some kindness to them.”
John Osborne was one of the lucky recipients when a delivery arrived a Harrison Drury Solicitors in Stramongate. He said: “It’s such a mad, busy world these days and, as it gets worse, it’s more important to make time for a little kindness whether it’s at home, at work or in the street.”
The Cumberland was highlighting its Kinder Kind of Kitchen initiative, run in partnership with FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria, delivered by Recycling Lives Charity, which supports community food projects to help tackle food poverty.
In June this year, it produced the Kinder Cookbook, featuring recipes from the community food groups. The iced ginger shortbread recipe came from the book and was devised by the Bendrigg Trust, a charity near Kendal that provides residential activity breaks for disabled and disadvantaged people.
Olivia Dewhirst, trainee assistant cluster manager at the Cumberland, said: “It’s been rewarding to give something back. Giving people a slice of kindness has got them talking, which is good to see and helps with a sense of community.”
Kinder Kind of Kitchen supported 52 community food groups in its first year serving the equivalent of 577,047 meals and diverting 242 tonnes of food – that would otherwise have gone to waste – to people in need.
Demand is continuing to rise and in the last two months it distributed 66.8 tonnes of food, serving the equivalent of 151,025 meals. It is also distributed 800kg of pet food and a further 800kg of toiletries to those in need.
The Cumberland donates around 1.5 per cent of its profits to good causes. It is providing another £250,000, on top of the £250,000 it pledged last year, to continue Kinder Kind of Kitchen into 2025 and to help FareShare Cumbria and Lancashire support local communities.
Find out more about the Kinder Cookbook and download your copy today.
World Kindness Day, celebrated on November 13 each year, was started by the World Kindness Movement in 1998 to highlight good deeds in the community.
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On World Kindness Day we served up kindness across Cumbria, Lancashire and south west Scotland. Find out more about what we did on the day.
