There's a lovely story for the New Year over at BirminghmamMail.net. Kathryn Jones, the director of group marketing and communications at Birmingham City University, is attempting to lose three stone in as many months to help save a young boy's life. Six year old Jay Brewer is due to travel to America for treatment of a brain tumour, and Kathryn is hoping to raise £2,000 towards sending the boy's family with him.
The NHS is footing the bill for Jay and his mother's trip, but Kathryn's efforts will help his father and siblings to be there too.
It's great to hear of people helping others. As the Coalition Government attempt to steer the country towards a Big Society, stories such as this demonstrate the ethos of looking beyond your own life to how you can help others, on which that concept is based.
Our article from October, NHS Organ Donation Social Media Campaign, mentioned the personal stories of courage posted on the corresponding facebook page, which are similar to Kathryn's story in showing people's altruism. As people read them, one would hope they may be inspired to see how they can make similar contributions to society.
I found Kathryn's story through a Google Alert I have set up to source material for this blog, but wouldn't it be great if such accounts were more visible and publicised? As the Government examines how they can nudge the population into taking a more active role in society, a strategy to highlight inspiring examples could have a significant impact.
Social Media and the viral tools therein, offer an opportunity to spread these on a massive level and in a highly engaging manner. To some extent, individual organisations and Government campaigns may already do this, but a concerted effort in support of encouraging the Big Society could play a large part in bringing it about.
In the spirit of this, here's a few more inspiring stories of goodwill. Happy New Year!
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