Kinross Kindness had been set up earlier in the year by someone with great experience, so the systems and processes were all thought through really well, which made it easy to get involved.

I wanted to do something connected with my local community, something that was practical and helpful. The jobs were pretty varied. Some days I delivered leaflets, sometimes I took shopping to people, collected prescriptions.

Sometimes I went out and made deliveries on my bike, those were good days. The sun was shining, I discovered parts of the area that I didn’t know existed, some days I took the kids with me on leafletting duty too. We had very clear guidelines about safety, so nobody felt they were at risk.

I’m a relative newcomer to the area – I moved here in 2016 – and although I didn’t actually meet anyone properly, the social distancing was too much for that, I did feel part of a strong community. I did the phone lines quite often – just chatting to people, hearing their issues. Some of their stories were so interesting.

I really feel I benefitted from volunteering. It gave me a sense of purpose, it connected me with my community and gave my days some structure when there wasn’t much. I’m not involved now – work is really busy and the general busyness of life has taken over – but I will definitely consider volunteering in the future.

Kinross Kindness is run by an amazing group of very friendly and generous people and just knowing that they are out there, all around me in my community, has helped me to feel more positive about life. That's something I've taken away from it too.