This week is Volunteers’ Week 2020 (1st – 7th June) and we celebrate the wonderful volunteers that are part of Home-Start, saying thank you to them for all that they do and bring to our charity.
One of our volunteers is Jude Simpson, who gives up some of her free time as our poet-in-residence. Jude’s words cleverly capture the essence of Home-Start, reflecting many of the emotions experienced whilst being a parent.
This week, a project that Jude is working on for Home-Start has led her to pen a new poem, particularity relevant for today, but in keeping with the theme of thank you…
For the last few months, I’ve been working on a collection of “thank you” poems for Home-Start to share with their volunteers, trustees and staff. I’ve been musing on what “thank you” means, and how best to say it, including the difference between grand gestures and simple, meaningful words or actions.
Whilst my head was in this space, it was announced that the Thursday applause, which we are all so used to, would probably be ceasing (making Thursday, 28th May the last one). That has become such a big part of our coronavirus lives – we are all so keen to somehow express our thanks to people we know who are risking much more than we are to keep saving lives.
So, I wrote a poem about how we can really thank healthcare workers, in ways that are possibly more meaningful than clapping for them once a week.
When I shared the poem with some doctors, nurses and other health workers, it immediately struck a chord with them and a few of them agreed to voice the poem for me. Turned out, it was a chance for them to say thank you to you as well.
The poem is called “Thank Me by Thinking Twice” and my brilliant friend Erica has turned it into a video which has already received a lot of attention.
If you like it… please share it among your family and friends. And don’t forget to look out for more of my “Thank you” poems, which will be coming soon.